Noble (NYSE:NE) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays cut shares of Noble (NYSE:NE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $41.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $36.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lowered 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. Fearnley Fonds lowered Noble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on Noble in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Noble Financial cut shares of Noble to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.63.

Noble Stock Up 0.3%

Noble stock opened at $45.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.94. Noble has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $46.31.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $764.41 million during the quarter. Noble had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 2.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Noble will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.15%.

Insider Activity at Noble

In other Noble news, CFO Richard B. Barker sold 20,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.96, for a total transaction of $859,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 314,781 shares in the company, valued at $13,522,991.76. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennie Howard sold 6,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $255,948.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 18,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,804. This represents a 25.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 78,805 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,254 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Noble by 156.4% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Noble by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter valued at about $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Noble

Here are the key news stories impacting Noble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raising earnings estimates — Zacks notes solid upward revisions to Noble’s earnings estimates, which supports a better near‑term EPS outlook and underpins the stock’s momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target upgrades — Several firms have lifted price targets (Susquehanna to $45, BTIG to $42) and JPMorgan raised its PT to $41, signaling improved valuation expectations from some sell‑side shops and providing technical support for the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend yield draws yield‑seeking buyers but raises sustainability questions — Noble declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.00, ~4.5% yield) with an ex‑dividend date in early March; however the payout ratio is very high (~148%), so income appeal is tempered by concerns about long‑term sustainability. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded the stock to “Equal Weight” — Barclays cut NE from Overweight to Equal Weight (even while raising its PT), a vote of caution that can reduce buy‑side conviction and weigh on sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior executives — Multiple execs (including an SVP sale of 3,453 shares) disclosed material sales this week; concentrated insider reductions often spook investors and act as a near‑term headwind. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst stance keeps upside limited — Several shops have raised targets but many maintain Neutral/Hold ratings (consensus is “Hold”), leaving implied upside modest vs. current levels and keeping the stock tethered to fundamentals and guidance. Read More.

Noble Company Profile

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.