Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating (12 brokers) on Noble with an average 1‑year price target of $39.25, while the stock recently traded near $49.69.
• Noble missed quarterly EPS (reported $0.09 vs. $0.15 expected) and revenue declined 17.6% year‑over‑year, with revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized yield ~4.0%) but has a high payout ratio (148.15%), and insiders have been net sellers (CEO sold 100,000 shares; insiders sold ~328,805 shares worth $15.1M in the last 90 days).

Shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.25.

Several brokerages have issued reports on NE. BTIG Research increased their price target on Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lowered Noble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Noble from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Noble Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NE stock opened at $49.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.48 and a 200-day moving average of $35.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Noble has a 1-year low of $18.00 and a 1-year high of $51.61.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.06). Noble had a return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The business had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Noble's revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Noble will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Noble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 100,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,243,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,987,261.36. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 2,083 shares of Noble stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 2,084 shares in the company, valued at $93,008.92. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 328,805 shares of company stock valued at $15,067,754 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Noble

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Noble by 156.4% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Noble in the third quarter valued at $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Noble by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Noble by 819.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Noble in the first quarter valued at $142,000. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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