Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Noble has a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from 11 analysts (1 sell, 9 hold, 1 buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $44.38.
• CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 100,000 shares for about $4.66M and insiders sold 346,631 shares worth ~$16.0M in the last quarter, while company insiders own 1.50% of the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized $2.00, yield 3.9%, ex‑dividend June 4) despite a high dividend payout ratio of ~139.86%; Noble also posted Q1 EPS of $0.26 (beating estimates) and revenue of $785.69M, down 10.1% year‑over‑year.

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.3750.

A number of analysts have recently commented on NE shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore set a $59.00 price target on Noble in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Noble from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In other Noble news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $4,662,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,243,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,987,261.36. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 2,083 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total value of $92,964.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,008.92. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 346,631 shares of company stock worth $16,003,924 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Noble by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Noble by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Noble by 819.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Noble during the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company's stock.

Noble Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NE opened at $50.91 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $47.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.64. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Noble has a 12-month low of $22.04 and a 12-month high of $54.57.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Noble will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Noble's dividend payout ratio is presently 139.86%.

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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