Analysts Set Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Price Target at $43.12

Shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.1250.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Noble from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Noble from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Noble from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Noble Stock Up 4.9%

NYSE NE opened at $42.58 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78 and a beta of 0.92. Noble has a 1 year low of $25.24 and a 1 year high of $54.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.38 and its 200 day moving average is $43.68.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. Noble had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 7.17%.The company had revenue of $785.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $730.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Noble’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Noble will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Noble’s payout ratio is presently 139.86%.

Insider Activity at Noble

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.51, for a total value of $2,275,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,193,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,331,112.28. This represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.85, for a total transaction of $1,994,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,539.35. This trade represents a 49.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 143,550 shares of company stock valued at $6,985,436 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Noble by 44.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Noble by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Noble by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Noble by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Noble during the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. 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.