Noble (NYSE:NE) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Noble (NYSE:NE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on Noble from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. SEB Equity Research set a $33.00 price target on Noble in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on Noble in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Noble presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of NE traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $47.82. 76,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,621. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42 and a beta of 1.00. Noble has a 52-week low of $19.70 and a 52-week high of $51.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released its 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 prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Noble will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Noble news, SVP Joey M. Kawaja sold 19,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total value of $858,234.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 80,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,484,019.74. This represents a 19.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 23,255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $1,011,592.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 79,261 shares in the company, valued at $3,447,853.50. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 328,805 shares of company stock worth $15,067,754 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Noble by 156.4% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Noble by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,318 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 1st quarter worth $142,000. Institutional investors own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

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.