Noble (NYSE:NE) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Noble (NYSE:NE) from a "hold" to a "strong sell", while analysts' consensus on MarketBeat is a "Reduce" rating with an average price target of $41.50.
• The company posted an earnings miss—Q EPS $0.09 vs. $0.15 expected—and quarterly revenue of $764.41 million was down 17.6% year‑over‑year; the stock trades around $47 with a $7.55 billion market cap.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: the CEO sold 100,000 shares at an average $46.62 (≈$4.66M) and insiders have sold 328,805 shares worth about $15.1M in the last 90 days.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NE. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Noble in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays cut shares of Noble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, SEB Equity Research set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Noble in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $41.50.

Noble Stock Up 1.5%

NE stock opened at $47.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Noble has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. Noble had a return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Noble will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Noble

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,243,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,987,261.36. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mikkel Ipsen sold 3,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total transaction of $150,412.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $516,360.24. This trade represents a 22.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 328,805 shares of company stock worth $15,067,754 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Noble

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NE. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $142,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Noble by 819.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,318 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,095,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 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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