Noble (NYSE:NE) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Key Points

• Noble reported quarterly EPS of $0.01, missing the $0.15 consensus estimate by $0.14. The company posted a 2.32% return on equity and a 7.17% net margin.
• Noble shares fell 0.4% to $43.09, near the analyst consensus price target of $43.12. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with two Buy ratings, eight Holds and one Sell.
• Insiders sold 143,550 shares worth approximately $7.0 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 68.14% of the company.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. Noble had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 7.17%.

Noble Stock Down 0.4%

Noble stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $43.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,050,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,803,329. 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 has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.99. Noble has a 52-week low of $25.24 and a 52-week high of $54.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NE. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Noble from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised 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 research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In related news, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.85, for a total value of $1,994,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,539.35. This trade represents a 49.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 50,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.51, for a total transaction of $2,275,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,193,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,331,112.28. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,550 shares of company stock valued at $6,985,436. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Noble during the second quarter valued at $359,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Noble by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 911,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,740,000 after acquiring an additional 24,725 shares during the period. Sagefield Capital LP raised its stake in Noble by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 182,844 shares of the company's stock worth $5,164,000 after acquiring an additional 52,261 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Noble in the 3rd quarter worth $3,935,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Noble in the 4th quarter worth $1,109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.14% of the company's stock.

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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