Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $44.71

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Noble, with five hold, two buy, one strong-buy and one sell recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $44.71, modestly above the reported $41.74 share price.
• Noble’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue of $719.69 million exceeded expectations, but adjusted EPS of $0.01 missed consensus by $0.14 and revenue fell 15.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, equivalent to a $2.00 annualized payout and a 4.8% yield, though its 215.05% payout ratio is elevated. Institutional investors own 68.14% of Noble’s shares.

Shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.71.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Noble from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, September 7th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Noble from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Noble from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Noble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NE opened at $41.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88 and a beta of 1.00. Noble has a 12 month low of $26.69 and a 12 month high of $54.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.60.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.14). Noble had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 1.93%. The firm had revenue of $719.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $697.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Noble will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Noble's payout ratio is 215.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NE. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Noble by 2.9% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,957,162 shares of the company's stock worth $520,602,000 after purchasing an additional 395,316 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Noble by 4.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,428,507 shares of the company's stock worth $202,483,000 after purchasing an additional 215,799 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Noble by 101.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 679,981 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Noble by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 65,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Noble by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 61,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,285,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the period. 68.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Noble

Noble Corporation plc NYSE: NE is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates a fleet of offshore drilling rigs, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, which are used for exploration, development and production activities in offshore oil and gas fields.

Noble's services include contract drilling, rig operations, well-construction support and related offshore services. Its fleet is designed to work in a range of water depths and operating environments, including deepwater and harsh-environment locations.

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