Duncan-Williams Reiterates Strong Buy on Noble Corporation, Raises PT to $61.50

Duncan-Williams reiterated its Strong Buy rating on Noble Corporation NE. At the same time, Duncan-Williams raised its price target to $61.50 from $54, following a number of positive announcements by Noble. In a research report published today, Duncan-Williams states, "Noble released a fleet status after the close yesterday with numerous changes including increased downtime in 2Q, new contracts, and the Danny Atkins is back on full dayrate in the Gulf of Mexico. New contracts in the Middle East and North Sea helped boost our estimates. Due to the changes, ... We reiterate our STRONG BUY rating and have increased our twelve month target to $61.50 per share, up from $54.00 per share, which is based on 15 times our new 2012 earnings estimate of $4.10 per share." On Thursday, Noble added 0.14% to close the day at $41.73.