Noble (NYSE:NE) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Key Points

• Noble shares dropped after opening at $40.25, down from the prior close of $43.11, following disappointing quarterly earnings.
• The company reported EPS of $0.01, missing the $0.15 consensus estimate by $0.14, while revenue of $719.69 million exceeded expectations but fell 15.2% year over year.
• Noble declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to a 5.0% annualized yield, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $43.12 price target.

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $43.11, but opened at $40.25. Noble shares last traded at $40.6050, with a volume of 301,597 shares.

The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $719.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $697.98 million. Noble had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 7.17%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS.

Noble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Noble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 139.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NE. Weiss Ratings lowered Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Noble from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. 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 price target on shares of Noble in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Noble presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.12.

Insider Transactions at Noble

In other news, Director Al J. Hirshberg sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total transaction of $263,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,462,993.86. This represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.31, for a total value of $1,479,300.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,475,700.37. This represents a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 128,210 shares of company stock worth $6,176,251. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Noble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,902,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Noble during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,935,000. Hosking Partners LLP raised its position in Noble by 10.0% in the 4th 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. Sagefield Capital LP raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 52,261 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in Noble in the fourth quarter worth $1,109,000. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Noble Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.08.

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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