Noble Corporation PLC (NE) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 on December 17th

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share on Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th.

Noble has a payout ratio of 71.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Noble to earn $1.97 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 101.5%.

Noble Trading Down 5.5%

Shares of NYSE:NE opened at $45.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.13. The company has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.95 and a beta of 1.00. Noble has a 12 month low of $27.67 and a 12 month high of $54.98.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $728.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.82 million. Noble’s revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Noble will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Noble from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.