Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives $54.79 Average Price Target from Analysts

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.68.

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $31.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger has a one year low of $31.52 and a one year high of $54.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,990.68. This represents a 44.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock valued at $13,609,283 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.