Jennie Howard Sells 6,094 Shares of Noble (NYSE:NE) Stock

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) SVP Jennie Howard sold 6,094 shares of Noble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $255,948.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,804. The trade was a 25.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NE traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.68. The company had a trading volume of 639,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,321,360. Noble Corporation PLC has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $46.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 1.12.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.06). Noble had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Noble’s payout ratio is presently 148.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter worth about $142,000. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Noble by 0.8% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 540,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Noble by 819.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,318 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC increased its stake in Noble by 4.9% during the second quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 194,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,163,000 after purchasing an additional 9,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Noble during the second quarter worth about $359,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Noble from $32.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Noble in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.63.

Noble Company Profile

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.