Mikkel Ipsen Sells 3,453 Shares of Noble (NYSE:NE) Stock

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) SVP Mikkel Ipsen sold 3,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total value of $150,412.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,360.24. This trade represents a 22.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Noble Price Performance

NE traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.76. 907,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,056. Noble Corporation PLC has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $46.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13 and a beta of 1.12.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.09 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $764.41 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Noble’s revenue was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NE shares. Barclays lowered Noble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday. Noble Financial lowered Noble to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Susquehanna lifted 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Noble in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.63.

Trending Headlines about Noble

Here are the key news stories impacting Noble this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The company is mentioned in a MarketBeat roundup about dividend and defensive stocks, but Noble (NE) is not a featured pick in that piece — limited direct impact on NE’s near-term outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut Noble from Overweight to Equal Weight while raising its price target to $41 (from $36), signaling a more cautious view despite the higher PT; the $41 PT implies downside versus recent levels and likely weighs on sentiment. Barclays downgrades Noble (The Fly)
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on NE to $41 (from $33) but kept a Neutral rating — the higher PT is constructive on valuation but still implies roughly an 8% downside from recent levels, a mixed-to-negative signal for upside expectations. JPMorgan raises price target (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Several senior Noble executives disclosed material stock sales this week (Blake Denton sold 23,255 shares at ~$43.50; Joey M. Kawaja sold 19,725 shares at ~$43.51; Jennie Howard, Mikkel Ipsen, Caroline Alting also sold shares). These filings show notable reductions in insider ownership percentages and can be interpreted as a near-term negative signal for investor sentiment. Insider sale filing (SEC – Blake Denton)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Noble in the 1st quarter valued at about $142,000. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Noble by 0.8% in 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Noble by 819.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,318 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Noble by 4.9% in 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 period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Noble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.14% of the company’s stock.

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.