Noble (NYSE:NE) Stock Jumps 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE)’s share price rose 5.8% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $45.27 and last traded at $46.5780. 98,543 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 1,634,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, September 7th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Noble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Noble currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.29.

Noble Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 51.05 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.00.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.14). Noble had a return on equity of 1.93% and a net margin of 4.88%. The business had revenue of $719.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. Noble’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Noble Corporation PLC will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 215.05%.

Institutional Trading of Noble

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Noble during the third quarter worth $172,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Noble during the third quarter worth about $365,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Noble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $435,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Noble by 1.9% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 761,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,772,000 after acquiring an additional 14,231 shares during 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.