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

Key Points

• Noble Corporation received a consensus “Hold” rating from 11 brokerages, with nine holds and two buys, and the average 1-year target price is about $45.38.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $0.26 EPS versus the $0.21 estimate and revenue of $785.69 million versus $730.47 million expected, though revenue fell 10.1% year over year.
• Noble announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share to be paid June 25, implying an annualized yield of 4.3%, while insiders have also been selling shares recently.

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.3750.

Several brokerages have recently commented on NE. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Noble from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Noble from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Fearnley Fonds downgraded shares of Noble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Noble Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:NE opened at $46.36 on Friday. Noble has a 52 week low of $24.60 and a 52 week high of $54.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $49.80 and its 200-day moving average is $40.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 0.94.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. Noble had a net margin of 7.17% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The company had revenue of $785.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $730.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Noble will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Noble's dividend payout ratio is 139.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In related news, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.85, for a total transaction of $1,994,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,071 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,539.35. This represents a 49.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.31, for a total transaction of $1,479,300.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,475,700.37. This trade represents a 50.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 343,550 shares of company stock worth $16,366,436 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NE. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Noble by 424.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company's stock worth $12,435,000 after buying an additional 356,333 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Noble during the 4th quarter worth about $4,902,000. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Noble during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,935,000. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its position in Noble by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company's stock worth $32,203,000 after buying an additional 103,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP lifted its position in Noble by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 182,844 shares of the company's stock worth $5,164,000 after buying an additional 52,261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company's stock.

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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