Noble (NYSE:NE) Shares Up 4.4% – Here’s Why

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) shares shot up 4.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.67 and last traded at $45.8130. 192,869 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,702,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NE. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, September 7th. Zacks Research cut Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fearnley Fonds raised Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Noble from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.71.

Noble Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 47.68 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.77.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $719.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.98 million. Noble had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 1.93%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Noble’s payout ratio is presently 215.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Noble by 2.9% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,957,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,602,000 after purchasing an additional 395,316 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Noble by 101.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,347,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,254,000 after acquiring an additional 679,981 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Noble by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 65,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Noble by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 61,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Noble during the second quarter worth about $1,481,000. 68.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Noble

Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) is an offshore drilling contractor that provides services to energy companies involved in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates a fleet of offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, and performs drilling activities in deepwater, harsh-environment and other offshore settings.

Noble’s services include contract drilling, rig operations and related offshore support for exploration and production programs.