Aphm Invest, a major holder of Noble Corporation (NE), recently added 300,000 shares. The buy increased the fund’s stake by 1%, and came to a total cost of $13.2 million.
This is the fund’s second buy of the year, following a 192,156 share pickup back in May, for just over $8.9 million. The company’s CFO also bought nearly 2,000 shares in March, for just under $96,000. Otherwise, most insiders have been sellers over the past two years.
Overall, Noble insiders own 21.8% of shares.
The oil and gas drilling operator is down about 5% over the past year.
That’s holding up slightly better than the rest of the energy sector, which has seen earnings growth collapse as energy prices have trended sideways for nearly two years now.
Meanwhile, Noble trades at 13 times earnings, a sizeable discount to the overall market.
Action to take: Energy prices look attractive for the long-term, although there will likely be some short-term pullbacks over time. Today’s buyers of Noble are getting a hefty 4.5% dividend, and can look to add to that position if energy prices drop.
For traders, shares are near the low end of their 52-week range, and look set to trend higher. The September $45 calls, last trading for about $2.00, could see mid-double-digit returns from a rally higher in the coming weeks.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.