Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.7143.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Noble from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore set a $59.00 target price on Noble in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Noble from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Noble Trading Down 0.5%

NE opened at $44.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.59 and a beta of 0.93. Noble has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $54.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.67 and a 200 day moving average of $44.90.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.14). Noble had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $719.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Noble will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Noble’s payout ratio is 215.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In other news, Director Al J. Hirshberg sold 5,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total value of $263,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,462,993.86. This trade represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.51, for a total value of $2,275,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,193,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,331,112.28. The trade was a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Noble by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Noble by 20.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Noble by 43.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Noble during the first quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Noble during the first quarter valued at $142,000. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Noble Company Profile

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.