Benchmark Initiates Coverage on Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)

Equities researchers at Benchmark started coverage on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Schlumberger from $51.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 26th. Barclays raised their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 26th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Schlumberger from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, October 24th. Griffin Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Schlumberger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.04.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $57.35 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Schlumberger has a 1-year low of $30.65 and a 1-year high of $59.45.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.03. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $7.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 6,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $323,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 35,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,355. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 6,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $323,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 35,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,355. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Limited/Nv Schlumberger sold 12,367,500 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total transaction of $189,593,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,701,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,061,062.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,496,976 shares of company stock valued at $196,612,911 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,210,874 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,423,270,000 after buying an additional 1,393,060 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Schlumberger by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 91,245,791 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,291,135,000 after buying an additional 1,537,620 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 44.9% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,671,828 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,168,374,000 after buying an additional 10,121,321 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 29,555,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $931,195,000 after purchasing an additional 439,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 59.3% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 28,917,488 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,034,089,000 after purchasing an additional 10,761,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.22% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Company Profile

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Schlumberger NV engages in the provision of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production and processing to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following business segments: Digital and Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The Digital and Integration segment combines the company’s software and seismic businesses with its integrated offering of asset performance solutions.