42,077 Shares in Noble Corporation PLC $NE Purchased by McAlvany Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• McAlvany Wealth Management initiated a 42,077-share position in Noble Corporation valued at approximately $1.76 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 68.14% of the company.
• Noble reported a third-quarter loss of $0.57 per share, missing estimates by $0.80, while revenue of $728.76 million exceeded expectations but fell 8.6% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $46.57. Noble also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 4.4% yield, though its payout ratio is elevated at 606.06%.

McAlvany Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 42,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,756,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NE. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Noble during the third quarter worth $68,000. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Noble during the third quarter worth approximately $505,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Noble during the third quarter worth $736,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Noble in the 3rd quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter worth $498,000. 68.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Noble from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Noble Financial initiated coverage on Noble in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Noble from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Noble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.57.

Noble Trading Down 7.4%

NE opened at $45.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Noble Corporation PLC has a 12-month low of $27.67 and a 12-month high of $54.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $44.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 137.47 and a beta of 1.00.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.80). Noble had a net margin of 1.79% and a negative return on equity of 0.76%. The business had revenue of $728.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. Noble's quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Noble's payout ratio is currently 606.06%.

Noble Profile

Noble Corporation plc NYSE: NE is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The company operates a fleet of offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, which are used to explore for and develop oil and natural gas reserves beneath the seabed.

Noble's services include contract drilling, well planning, project management and other related support services. Its drilling units are designed to operate in a range of offshore environments, including deepwater and harsh-environment locations.

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