Noble (NYSE:NE) Downgraded by Barclays to “Equal Weight”

Barclays lowered shares of Noble (NYSE:NE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $41.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $36.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Noble from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on Noble in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.63.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of Noble stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $44.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 784,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,326,951. Noble has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $46.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.06). Noble had a return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm had revenue of $764.41 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Noble will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In other Noble news, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 19,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total transaction of $858,234.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 80,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,484,019.74. This trade represents a 19.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennie Howard sold 6,094 shares of Noble 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 18,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,804. The trade was a 25.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,722 shares of company stock worth $2,459,090. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hosking Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Noble by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,203,000 after buying an additional 103,477 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Noble by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 911,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,740,000 after purchasing an additional 24,725 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Noble by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 540,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Noble by 424.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,435,000 after purchasing an additional 356,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Noble by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 194,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,163,000 after buying an additional 9,116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Noble

Here are the key news stories impacting Noble this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The company is mentioned in a MarketBeat roundup about dividend and defensive stocks, but Noble (NE) is not a featured pick in that piece — limited direct impact on NE’s near-term outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut Noble from Overweight to Equal Weight while raising its price target to $41 (from $36), signaling a more cautious view despite the higher PT; the $41 PT implies downside versus recent levels and likely weighs on sentiment. Barclays downgrades Noble (The Fly)
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on NE to $41 (from $33) but kept a Neutral rating — the higher PT is constructive on valuation but still implies roughly an 8% downside from recent levels, a mixed-to-negative signal for upside expectations. JPMorgan raises price target (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Several senior Noble executives disclosed material stock sales this week (Blake Denton sold 23,255 shares at ~$43.50; Joey M. Kawaja sold 19,725 shares at ~$43.51; Jennie Howard, Mikkel Ipsen, Caroline Alting also sold shares). These filings show notable reductions in insider ownership percentages and can be interpreted as a near-term negative signal for investor sentiment. Insider sale filing (SEC – Blake Denton)

Noble Company Profile

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.