Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shares fell 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.85 and last traded at $40.52. 3,300,603 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,761,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 258,258 shares of company stock worth $11,219,004. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third 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. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.