Noble (NYSE:NE) Price Target Raised to $46.00

Noble (NYSE:NE) had its price objective hoisted by Susquehanna from $44.00 to $46.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays cut their price target on Noble from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, September 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.57.

Noble Stock Performance

NE stock opened at $49.04 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.40. Noble has a twelve month low of $27.67 and a twelve month high of $54.98. The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.61 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The company reported ($0.57) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $728.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.82 million. Noble had a negative return on equity of 0.76% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. Analysts predict that Noble will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is 606.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Noble during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Noble by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Noble by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Noble by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Noble

Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE) is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to the global oil and gas industry. The company operates a fleet of offshore drilling units, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, which are used to explore for and develop oil and natural gas reserves beneath the seabed.

Noble’s services include contract drilling, well planning, project management and other related support services. Its drilling units are designed to operate in a range of offshore environments, including deepwater and harsh-environment locations.