Noble (NYSE:NE) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Noble Corporation hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $54.57 after closing previously at $52.90. The move reflects strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Despite the rally, Wall Street’s view remains cautious: Noble has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $45.38, below the current share price. Analysts have been mixed, with recent target hikes from Citi, Susquehanna, and JPMorgan, while Zacks downgraded the stock to strong sell.
• Noble posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.26 versus the $0.21 estimate and revenue of $785.69 million beating forecasts. The company also declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend payable June 25, though its payout ratio is high at 139.86%.

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.57 and last traded at $54.2280, with a volume of 400808 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on NE shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Noble from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. SEB Equity Research set a $33.00 price objective on Noble in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research lowered Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Noble has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.38.

Noble Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $48.75 and its 200-day moving average is $39.03.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Noble had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 7.17%.The firm had revenue of $785.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $730.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Noble's payout ratio is currently 139.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Caroline Alting sold 15,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total transaction of $809,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,967.50. The trade was a 65.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $1,997,539.35. This represents a 49.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 387,341 shares of company stock valued at $18,217,505. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NE. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Noble by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Noble during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 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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