Brokerages Set Noble Co. PLC (NYSE:NE) PT at $2.32

Noble Co. PLC (NYSE:NE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.32.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NE. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Noble from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Pareto Securities cut Noble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Noble from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $9.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup cut Noble from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $1.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Fearnley Fonds cut Noble from a “reduce” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

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In related news, Director Julie H. Edwards acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.24 per share, for a total transaction of $31,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 189,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,734.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. World Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Noble by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. World Asset Management Inc now owns 45,695 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 6,978 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Noble by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 350,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 7,665 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its stake in Noble by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 107,588 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 8,458 shares during the last quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. boosted its stake in Noble by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 36,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 8,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Noble by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 10,367 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NYSE:NE traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,785,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,075,514. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $286.58 million, a PE ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Noble has a 52-week low of $0.99 and a 52-week high of $4.52.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $275.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.72 million. Noble had a negative return on equity of 8.76% and a negative net margin of 60.35%. Noble’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.43) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Noble will post -1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Noble Company Profile

Noble Corporation plc operates as an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry worldwide. It provides contract drilling services using mobile offshore drilling units. As of December 31, 2018, the company operated a fleet of 24 drilling rigs consisted of 8 drill ships, 4 semisubmersibles, and 12 jack ups.

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