Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE – Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.3750.
Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Noble from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Noble from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $59.00 target price on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, April 27th.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on NE
Noble Stock Performance
Noble (NYSE:NE – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $785.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Noble’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Noble will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.
Noble Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Noble’s payout ratio is currently 139.86%.
Insider Activity at Noble
In other news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.51, for a total transaction of $2,275,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,193,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,331,112.28. This represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Alting sold 15,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total value of $809,185.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,967.50. This represents a 65.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,550 shares of company stock valued at $6,985,436. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hosking Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Noble by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,203,000 after purchasing an additional 103,477 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 24,725 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Noble by 424.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,435,000 after purchasing an additional 356,333 shares during the last quarter. Sagefield Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Noble by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 182,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,164,000 after purchasing an additional 52,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Noble in the fourth quarter valued at $4,902,000. 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.
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