Noble (NYSE:NE) Rating Lowered to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Noble (NYSE:NE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $41.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $36.00. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 9.62% from the company’s previous close.

NE has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Noble from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Susquehanna lifted 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. Finally, Evercore set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Noble in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.63.

Noble Stock Performance

NYSE:NE opened at $45.37 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.81. Noble has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $46.31.

Noble (NYSE:NE) last released 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 return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm had revenue of $764.41 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Noble will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Noble

In related news, SVP Caroline Alting sold 4,195 shares of Noble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.60, for a total value of $182,902.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 23,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,025,036. The trade was a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mikkel Ipsen sold 3,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total transaction of $150,412.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,854 shares in the company, valued at $516,360.24. This trade represents a 22.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 56,722 shares of company stock valued at $2,459,090 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Noble

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Noble by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Noble during the third quarter worth $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Noble by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Noble during the first quarter valued at $142,000. 68.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Noble

Here are the key news stories impacting Noble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Noble disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized $2.00), a ~4.5% yield with an ex-dividend date of March 4 — a near-term income draw for yield-focused holders. MarketBeat: NE stock page (dividend details)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a momentum-focused piece on NE, which may attract momentum traders but doesn’t contain new company-specific catalysts. Zacks: What Makes NE a Strong Momentum Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms raised price targets recently (JPMorgan, BTIG, Susquehanna), which can be constructive for medium-term valuation. However, these reports largely kept Neutral/Hold stances or set targets near or below recent trade levels, muting immediate bullish impact. Benzinga: analyst notes
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded NE from Overweight to Equal Weight while raising its target to $41, signaling a more cautious stance; the $41 target implies downside versus recent prices and likely pressures sentiment. The Fly: Barclays downgrades Noble
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives disclosed sizable insider sales this week (e.g., Blake Denton, Joey M. Kawaja, Jennie Howard, Mikkel Ipsen, Caroline Alting). These filings show meaningful reductions in insider holdings and can be interpreted as a negative signal for near-term insider confidence. InsiderTrades: Insider selling summary

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.