Noble (NYSE:NE) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $47.73 and last traded at $47.8410, with a volume of 457326 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Noble from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on shares of Noble in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.63.

Noble Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.27.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is 148.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mikkel Ipsen sold 3,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total value of $150,412.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,360.24. This represents a 22.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 2,083 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total value of $92,964.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,084 shares in the company, valued at $93,008.92. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,805 shares of company stock worth $3,411,254. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Noble by 156.4% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Noble by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Noble by 819.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Noble during the first quarter worth about $142,000. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Noble Company Profile

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.