Short Interest in Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) Drops By 13.3%

17 Mar 2026, 18:15 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 10,583,996 shares, a drop of 13.3% from the February 12th total of 12,214,502 shares. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,344,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,344,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. SEB Equity Research set a $33.00 price target on shares of Noble in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Noble in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Noble from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Noble Financial lowered Noble to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Noble from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.63.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Noble

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mikkel Ipsen sold 3,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total transaction of $150,412.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,360.24. The trade was a 22.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennie Howard sold 6,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $255,948.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 18,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,804. This represents a 25.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,805 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,254. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Noble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hosking Partners LLP grew its stake in Noble by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,140,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,203,000 after acquiring an additional 103,477 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Noble by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 911,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,740,000 after purchasing an additional 24,725 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Noble by 424.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 440,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,435,000 after buying an additional 356,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC raised its holdings in Noble by 4.9% during the second quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 194,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,163,000 after buying an additional 9,116 shares during the last quarter. 68.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Noble Trading Up 4.6%

NE stock traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 983,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,193,138. Noble has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $48.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.04. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80 and a beta of 1.07.

Noble (NYSE:NE – Get Free Report) 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). The company had revenue of $764.41 million for the quarter. Noble had a return on equity of 2.34% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Noble will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Noble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Noble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

About Noble

(Get Free Report)

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.