39,700 Shares in Noble Corporation PLC $NE Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems bought 39,700 shares of Noble Corporation worth approximately $1.48 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 68.14% of the company.
• Noble reported quarterly EPS of $0.01, below the $0.15 analyst consensus, while revenue of $719.69 million exceeded estimates but declined 15.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, or $2.00 annually, representing a 4.4% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $44.71.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,481,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Noble by 3,596.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,503,205 shares of the company's stock worth $205,270,000 after buying an additional 5,354,310 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Noble by 101.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,347,291 shares of the company's stock worth $50,254,000 after acquiring an additional 679,981 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased 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 worth $520,602,000 after acquiring an additional 395,316 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Noble during the third quarter worth $3,935,000. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Noble by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 182,844 shares of the company's stock worth $5,164,000 after purchasing an additional 52,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company's stock.

Noble Price Performance

NYSE:NE opened at $45.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Noble Corporation PLC has a 52 week low of $26.69 and a 52 week high of $54.98. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $43.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 48.67 and a beta of 0.92.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $719.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.98 million. Noble had a return on equity of 1.93% and a net margin of 4.88%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Noble's payout ratio is 215.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on NE shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, September 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Noble from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Noble in a report on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Noble from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Noble currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In other news, CEO Robert Eifler sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.51, for a total transaction 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 $54,331,112.28. This represents a 4.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Noble Company Profile

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.

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