RBC Capital Markets Downgrades Nobel Corp to Sector Perform from Outperform, Drops PT from $41.00 to $40.00

In a report published Wednesday, RBC Capital Markets analyst Kurt Hallead downgraded Noble Corp PLC (NYSE: NE) to Sector Perform from Outperform, dropping its price target from $41.00 to $40.00.According to the report, it is believed that NE shares have limited upside until the market gains more confidence in the supply/demand outlook for older floating rigs in 2014. Market fundamentals currently continue to weaken for floating rigs and it remains unclear where dayrates and utilization bottom. NE has less exposure relative to some of its peers, but bearish market sentiment is likely to keep the stock range-bound.“2014 Street EPS estimates for NE have been cut 6% over the last three months as the market continues to reduce numbers based on a weakening market,” the report noted. “Our 2014 EPS estimate of $4.04 is currently 7% below consensus, and we expect the Street number to continue drifting lower due to weaker than expected dayrates and downtime between contracts.”The report further asserted that dividend increase is on the horizon as the company has shown interest in it following the spin of its lower-end fleet. With newbuild capex significantly winding down toward the end of 2015, we think NE could be in a position to increase its dividend to a level that would bring its yild to ~5 percent, more in line with some of its peers. NE's current dividend offers a ~3 percent yield. NE closed Tuesday at $36.27 with shares trading down at 1.76 percent.