Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.97.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 204.2% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 297.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE SLB opened at $44.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

About Schlumberger

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.