Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Noble Corporation has an average analyst rating of “Hold” from 11 research firms, with nine holds and two buys. The average 12-month price target is about $45.38.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, earning $0.26 per share versus $0.21 expected and revenue of $785.69 million versus $730.47 million expected. However, revenue was still down 10.1% year over year.
• Noble also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, or $2.00 annually, implying a 4.8% yield. Insider selling has been notable, with executives selling 143,550 shares over the last three months.

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

NE has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Noble from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Noble from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore set a $59.00 target price on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Noble from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,539.35. This represents a 49.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.31, for a total value of $1,479,300.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,700.37. The trade was a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 143,550 shares of company stock worth $6,985,436 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Noble by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Noble by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Noble in the first quarter worth about $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.14% of the company's stock.

Noble Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE NE opened at $41.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.29. Noble has a 52 week low of $25.24 and a 52 week high of $54.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31 and a beta of 0.89.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $785.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Noble will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Noble's payout ratio is currently 139.86%.

Noble Company Profile

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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