Noble (NYSE:NE) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $50.99 and last traded at $50.0470, with a volume of 71917 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NE. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on Noble in a research report on Friday, February 13th. SEB Equity Research set a $33.00 target price on Noble in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.63.

Noble Stock Up 0.0%

The company has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.06). Noble had a return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Noble

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total transaction of $4,662,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,243,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,987,261.36. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennie Howard sold 6,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $255,948.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,804. This trade represents a 25.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 328,805 shares of company stock worth $15,067,754. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Noble by 424.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,435,000 after purchasing an additional 356,333 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Noble during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,902,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Noble during the third quarter valued at about $3,935,000. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Noble by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,203,000 after buying an additional 103,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Noble by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 182,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,164,000 after buying an additional 52,261 shares in the last quarter. 68.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.