Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.29.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NE shares. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Noble from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Noble from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NE opened at $41.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.56 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.49. Noble has a 12 month low of $26.69 and a 12 month high of $54.98.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $719.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.98 million. Noble had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 1.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Noble will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 4.8%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 215.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NE. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB purchased a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Noble by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Noble by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,428,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,483,000 after purchasing an additional 215,799 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Noble by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 61,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Noble during the second quarter worth about $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

Noble Company Profile

Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE) is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates a fleet of offshore drilling rigs, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, which are used for exploration, development and production activities in offshore oil and gas fields.

Noble’s services include contract drilling, rig operations, well-construction support and related offshore services. Its fleet is designed to work in a range of water depths and operating environments, including deepwater and harsh-environment locations.