SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stock Position in Noble Corporation PLC $NE

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC slashed its Noble Corporation stake by 95.2% in the first quarter, selling 419,226 shares and leaving it with 21,116 shares valued at about $1.04 million.
• Noble recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.26 versus $0.21 expected and revenue of $785.69 million versus $730.47 million projected, though revenue still fell 10.1% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 5.3%; meanwhile, analysts currently have an overall Hold rating with a consensus price target of $44.50.

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its position in Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Free Report) by 95.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,116 shares of the company's stock after selling 419,226 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Noble were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NE. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter worth approximately $142,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Noble by 819.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Noble in the second quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Noble in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,935,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Noble by 1.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 886,766 shares of the company's stock worth $25,078,000 after purchasing an additional 9,442 shares during the last quarter. 68.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Noble Stock Performance

NE opened at $37.90 on Friday. Noble Corporation PLC has a 12-month low of $25.24 and a 12-month high of $54.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.57.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $785.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $730.47 million. Noble had a net margin of 7.17% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Noble's payout ratio is currently 139.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Noble from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Noble from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays raised Noble from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Noble news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,193,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,331,112.28. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 40,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.85, for a total value of $1,994,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,539.35. The trade was a 49.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 143,550 shares of company stock valued at $6,985,436 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Noble

Noble NYSE: NE is an offshore drilling company that provides drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The firm operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units and delivers contract drilling solutions for exploration and production activities. Its core business centers on executing drilling programs for upstream energy companies across a range of water depths and operating environments.

Products and services include the operation and management of offshore drilling rigs — such as drillships, semisubmersibles and jackups — along with associated technical, engineering and project management services.

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