Noble Corporation PLC $NE Position Lowered by Hosking Partners LLP

Key Points

• Hosking Partners reduced its Noble stake by 6.1% in the third quarter, selling 61,493 shares and retaining 938,628 shares valued at about $39.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 68.14% of Noble.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Noble carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $45.29. Recent actions included upgrades from Fearnley Fonds and Zacks Research, alongside price-target cuts from Barclays.
• Noble’s shares opened at $44.11, near their 50- and 200-day moving averages, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.01—below estimates—but revenue of $719.69 million, above expectations. Its quarterly dividend of $0.50 implies a 4.5% yield, though the payout ratio is high at 215.05%.

Hosking Partners LLP lessened its position in shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 938,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,493 shares during the period. Noble makes up about 1.4% of Hosking Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Hosking Partners LLP owned approximately 0.59% of Noble worth $39,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new position in Noble in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Noble by 44.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Noble during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Noble by 43.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Noble by 20.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NE. Wall Street Zen downgraded Noble from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Fearnley Fonds raised Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Noble from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Noble from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.29.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NE opened at $44.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.43 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.04. Noble Corporation PLC has a one year low of $27.67 and a one year high of $54.98.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $719.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.98 million. Noble had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 1.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Noble's dividend payout ratio is presently 215.05%.

Noble Company 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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