173,597 Shares in Noble Corporation PLC $NE Purchased by Hara Capital LLC

Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 173,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,902,000. Noble comprises about 2.7% of Hara Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Noble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,036,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,322,000 after purchasing an additional 5,685 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Noble by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 886,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,078,000 after purchasing an additional 9,442 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Noble by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 540,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Noble by 424.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,435,000 after buying an additional 356,333 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Noble during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,935,000. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Noble Price Performance

Shares of NE stock opened at $49.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.52. Noble Corporation PLC has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $50.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $764.41 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Noble Corporation PLC will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Noble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.15%.

Insider Transactions at Noble

In other Noble news, CEO Robert W. Eifler sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.62, for a total value of $4,662,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,243,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,987,261.36. The trade was a 7.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Blake Denton sold 23,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $1,011,592.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 79,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,447,853.50. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 328,805 shares of company stock valued at $15,067,754. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NE shares. Fearnley Fonds lowered shares of Noble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Noble from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Noble from $32.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Noble has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.63.

Noble 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.