Robert Eifler Sells 100,000 Shares of Noble (NYSE:NE) Stock

Key Points

• CEO Robert Eifler sold 100,000 shares of Noble on March 18 at an average price of $46.62 for about $4.662 million, cutting his stake by 7.44% to 1,243,828 shares.
• Noble declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share (annualized $2.00, ~4.2% yield) with an ex-dividend date and record date on March 4 and payment on March 19, and a payout ratio of 148.15%.
• Noble missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.09 EPS versus a $0.15 consensus and revenue of $764.41 million, down 17.6% year-over-year.

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) CEO Robert Eifler sold 100,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total value of $4,662,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,243,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,987,261.36. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of NE stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,354,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,713. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.41 and a beta of 1.07. Noble Corporation PLC has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $48.59.

Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.06). Noble had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Noble's revenue was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Noble's payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays cut Noble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on Noble in a report on Friday, February 13th. Noble Financial lowered Noble to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Noble from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Noble by 156.4% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Noble during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Noble by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Noble by 819.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,318 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter valued at about $142,000. 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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