Noble Corporation PLC Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:NE)

Key Points

• Quarterly dividend of $0.50 announced — shareholders of record on June 4 will be paid on June 25, equal to $2.00 annualized (~3.8% yield) with a current payout ratio about 71.7% and an expected future payout ratio near 87.3%.
• Q1 results topped expectations: Noble reported EPS of $0.26 versus a $0.21 consensus and revenue of $785.7M versus $730.8M, though revenue was down ~10.1% year‑over‑year and the stock jumped about 6.6% to $52.80.
• Insider selling notable: CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 100,000 shares (and insiders sold ~328,805 shares worth ~$15M in the past 90 days), while institutional investors now own roughly 68% of the company.

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Sunday, April 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Thursday, June 25th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th.

Noble has a payout ratio of 71.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Noble to earn $2.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 87.3%.

Noble Stock Up 6.6%

Noble stock traded up $3.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,454,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,479. The company has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.97. Noble has a one year low of $20.80 and a one year high of $54.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $785.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $730.80 million. Noble had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 2.34%. Noble's revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Noble will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $4,662,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,243,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,987,261.36. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 19,725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total transaction of $858,234.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 80,074 shares in the company, valued at $3,484,019.74. This represents a 19.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 328,805 shares of company stock worth $15,067,754. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NE. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Noble by 424.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company's stock worth $12,435,000 after purchasing an additional 356,333 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Noble in the fourth quarter worth $4,902,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Noble in the third quarter worth $3,935,000. Hosking Partners LLP increased its stake in Noble by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company's stock worth $32,203,000 after purchasing an additional 103,477 shares during the period. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Noble by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 182,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,164,000 after buying an additional 52,261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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