Noble (NYSE:NE) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $47.44 and last traded at $46.2160, with a volume of 254878 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Noble from $32.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. SEB Equity Research set a $33.00 price target on shares of Noble in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Noble from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.63.

Noble Trading Down 1.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $764.41 million during the quarter. Noble had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 2.34%. Noble’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is 148.15%.

Insider Activity at Noble

In other Noble news, SVP Jennie Howard sold 6,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $255,948.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 18,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,804. This trade represents a 25.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 19,725 shares of Noble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total transaction of $858,234.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 80,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,484,019.74. The trade was a 19.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 78,805 shares of company stock worth $3,411,254 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Noble by 156.4% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Noble by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Noble by 819.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Noble during the 1st quarter valued at about $142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

About Noble

Noble (NYSE: NE) is an offshore drilling company that provides drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The firm operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units and delivers contract drilling solutions for exploration and production activities. Its core business centers on executing drilling programs for upstream energy companies across a range of water depths and operating environments.

Products and services include the operation and management of offshore drilling rigs — such as drillships, semisubmersibles and jackups — along with associated technical, engineering and project management services.