Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Releases Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) announced its earnings results on Friday. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75, RTT News reports. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $50.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Schlumberger has a 1 year low of $42.73 and a 1 year high of $62.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.48.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SLB. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $1,052,607.15. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 31,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,623,855.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,008,286,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Schlumberger by 200.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,736,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $527,173,000 after purchasing an additional 7,158,943 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,742,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $611,077,000 after buying an additional 2,412,610 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 179.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,736,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $113,024,000 after buying an additional 1,756,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,883,928,000 after buying an additional 1,753,108 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.