Noble Corporation Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (NE)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B- . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, solid stock price performance, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations and compelling growth in net income. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth greatly exceeded the industry average of 12.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 43.1%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• Powered by its strong earnings growth of 200.00% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 28.15% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Turning to the future, naturally, any stock can fall in a major bear market. However, in almost any other environment, the stock should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed nice gains in the past year.
• 47.40% is the gross profit margin for NOBLE CORP which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 17.80% is above that of the industry average.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 172.59% to $432.24 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, NOBLE CORP has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -50.79%.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Energy Equipment & Services industry. The net income increased by 195.5% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $54.08 million to $159.82 million.

Noble Corporation operates as an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The company offers contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The company has a P/E ratio of 17.8, equal to the average energy industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Noble has a market cap of $9.6 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. Shares are up 25.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Noble Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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