Is Noble Corporation PLC (NE) an Attractive Long-Term Investment?

Patient Capital Management, a value investing firm, released its “Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy generated a total return of 15.3% net of fees in the quarter compared to the strategy’s unmanaged benchmark, the S&P 500 Index’s 10.9% return. According to a three-factor performance attribution model, the selection effect contributed positively to the portfolio’s performance, which was partially offset by allocation and interaction effects. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second quarter 2025 investor letter, Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE). Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) is an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The one-month return of Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) was -6.27%, and its shares lost 41.88% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 17, 2025, Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) stock closed at $26.91 per share with a market capitalization of $4.273 billion.

Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“We initiated a position in Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) in the quarter. Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor. We think the offshore drilling market is attractive long-term, particularly as growth in land-based oil production slows. Industry dynamics have steadily improved since 2019, with significant consolidation reducing the number of major players to just four. At the same time, nearly half of all deepwater rigs were scrapped over the past decade, and with minimal current capital investment, supply growth is expected to remain constrained for years to come. Despite recent rate pressures, Noble’s fundamentals remain sound. Their 2025 guidance is fully backed by its contracted backlog, and the company’s continued focus on cost discipline should support margin expansion and strong free cash generation. Management has committed to returning 100% of free cash flow to shareholders, through both a dividend (7% yield) and share repurchases (representing 8% of shares outstanding). We believe Noble is well positioned to further consolidate the sector and benefit from improving offshore market conditions over the long-term.”

In another article, we covered Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) and shared the list of best oil drilling stocks to buy according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.