Noble Corporation PLC $NE Shares Sold by Hosking Partners LLP

Hosking Partners LLP reduced its position in shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 938,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,493 shares during the quarter. Noble accounts for about 1.4% of Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Noble were worth $39,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $435,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Noble by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 761,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,772,000 after acquiring an additional 14,231 shares during the period. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Noble during the third quarter valued at $1,252,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Noble during the third quarter valued at $1,099,000. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Noble during the third quarter valued at $417,000. Institutional investors own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

Noble Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:NE opened at $44.11 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.37 and its 200-day moving average is $45.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. Noble Corporation PLC has a 52 week low of $27.67 and a 52 week high of $54.98. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.43 and a beta of 1.00.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.14). Noble had a return on equity of 1.93% and a net margin of 4.88%. The firm had revenue of $719.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is 215.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, September 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Noble from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Noble from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.29.

Noble Company Profile

Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE) is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The company operates a fleet of offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, which are used to explore for and develop oil and natural gas reserves beneath the seabed.

Noble’s services include contract drilling, well planning, project management and other related support services. Its drilling units are designed to operate in a range of offshore environments, including deepwater and harsh-environment locations.