Noble (NYSE:NE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $47.73 and last traded at $47.8410, with a volume of 457326 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NE shares. Noble Financial downgraded shares of Noble to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on Noble in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Fearnley Fonds cut Noble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered Noble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.63.

Noble Trading Up 2.7%

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 company’s 50-day moving average is $39.59 and its 200 day moving average is $33.04. The company has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15 and a beta of 1.07.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last posted 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 return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.15%.

Insider Transactions at Noble

In other Noble news, SVP Mikkel Ipsen sold 3,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total transaction of $150,412.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,360.24. This trade represents a 22.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 23,255 shares of Noble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $1,011,592.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 79,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,447,853.50. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 78,805 shares of company stock worth $3,411,254 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hosking Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Noble by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,203,000 after acquiring an additional 103,477 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Noble by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 911,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,740,000 after purchasing an additional 24,725 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Noble by 0.8% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 540,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Noble by 424.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,435,000 after purchasing an additional 356,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Noble by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 194,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,163,000 after purchasing an additional 9,116 shares in the last quarter. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.