Key Points
- Noble CEO Robert Eifler sold 50,000 shares on June 15 at an average price of $45.51, totaling $2.28 million. After the sale, he still held about 1.19 million shares, and the trade reduced his ownership by 4.02%.
- Noble recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.26 beating estimates and revenue of $785.69 million coming in above forecasts. However, revenue still fell 10.1% from a year earlier.
- The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable June 25, implying an annualized yield of 4.6%. Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall, with a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $45.38.
Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) CEO Robert Eifler sold 50,000 shares of Noble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.51, for a total transaction of $2,275,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,193,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,331,112.28. The trade was a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Noble Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:NE opened at $43.11 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $48.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.00. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15 and a beta of 0.89. Noble Corporation PLC has a 12-month low of $25.24 and a 12-month high of $54.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.
Noble (NYSE:NE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. Noble had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 7.17%.The business had revenue of $785.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $730.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Noble's revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Noble Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Noble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 139.86%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NE. Susquehanna upped their target price on Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Noble from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Noble from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $59.00 target price on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Noble from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.38.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Noble
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $32,203,000 after buying an additional 103,477 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Noble by 424.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company's stock worth $12,435,000 after buying an additional 356,333 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Noble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,902,000. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Noble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Noble during the second quarter valued at approximately $359,000. 68.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Noble Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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