28,700 Shares in Noble Corporation PLC $NE Bought by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Key Points

• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund initiated a position in Noble, buying 28,700 shares worth about $1.2 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 68.14% of the company.
• Noble reported quarterly EPS of -$0.57, missing the $0.23 consensus estimate, while revenue of $728.76 million topped expectations but fell 8.6% year over year.
• Noble declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.9% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $46.57.

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,198,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NE. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Noble by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,957,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,602,000 after acquiring an additional 395,316 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Noble by 4.1% during the 2nd 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. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC acquired a new stake in Noble in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,802,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Noble by 1.9% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 761,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,772,000 after purchasing an additional 14,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company's stock.

Noble Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NE opened at $40.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 124.17 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Noble Corporation PLC has a 12-month low of $27.67 and a 12-month high of $54.98.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $728.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.82 million. Noble had a negative return on equity of 0.76% and a net margin of 1.79%. Noble's revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. Noble's payout ratio is currently 606.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NE. Weiss Ratings downgraded Noble from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Noble Financial started coverage on Noble in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Noble presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.57.

About Noble

Noble Corporation plc, operating as Noble NYSE: NE, provides contract drilling services to the offshore oil and gas industry. The company owns and operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, and provides related services to energy companies exploring for and producing oil and natural gas.

Noble serves customers in offshore markets around the world. Its operations support drilling in a range of water depths and environments, from shallow-water projects to deepwater and ultra-deepwater developments.

The company traces its history to Noble Drilling, founded in 1921.

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