Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Receives $38.63 Average PT from Analysts

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.6250.

Several research firms have issued reports on NE. BTIG Research upped their price target 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. Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Noble Financial lowered Noble to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Noble from $32.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Noble news, CFO Richard B. Barker sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.96, for a total transaction of $859,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 314,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,522,991.76. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 2,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total value of $92,964.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,008.92. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,805 shares of company stock worth $3,411,254. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Noble by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Noble in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Noble by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Noble by 819.1% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Noble during the first quarter valued at approximately $142,000. 68.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Noble Trading Down 2.2%

NE stock opened at $46.61 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Noble has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $48.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.27.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Noble will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors 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 yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

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.