Noble (NYSE:NE) Upgraded to "Overweight" at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Noble from "equal weight" to "overweight" and set a $56 price target, implying about a 14% upside from the stock's current level.
• Noble beat quarterly estimates with $0.26 EPS (vs. $0.21 expected) and revenue of $785.7M (vs. $730.5M), but revenue was down 10.1% year‑over‑year and the MarketBeat consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a $45.38 target.
• Significant insider selling: company insiders sold 346,631 shares worth roughly $16.0M over the past 90 days, and insiders now own about 1.5% of the company.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a $56.00 price target on the stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.03% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on NE. Evercore set a $59.00 target price on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research cut Noble from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Fearnley Fonds downgraded Noble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Noble has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.38.

Noble Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NE stock opened at $49.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.94. Noble has a twelve month low of $22.37 and a twelve month high of $54.57.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $785.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $730.47 million. Noble had a net margin of 7.17% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Noble will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Caroline Alting sold 15,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total value of $809,185.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,967.50. This trade represents a 65.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 23,255 shares of Noble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $1,011,592.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 79,261 shares in the company, valued at $3,447,853.50. The trade was a 22.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 346,631 shares of company stock worth $16,003,924 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Noble

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NE. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Noble during the first quarter valued at approximately $142,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Noble during the 2nd quarter valued at $359,000. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its position in Noble by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,036,851 shares of the company's stock worth $29,322,000 after purchasing an additional 5,685 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Noble by 663.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 36,150 shares of the company's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 31,415 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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