Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.52.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Schlumberger from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.20, for a total value of $4,004,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 204,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,689,220.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, CAO Howard Guild sold 20,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,809.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 35,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,682. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.20, for a total value of $4,004,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 204,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,689,220.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,389 shares of company stock valued at $15,026,271 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 59.3% during 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 period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 44.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 10,121,321 shares in the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 32,149.8% during the second quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 6,498,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $232,369,000 after acquiring an additional 6,477,867 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 501.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,401,112 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $264,665,000 after acquiring an additional 6,171,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its stake in Schlumberger by 4,920.1% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 4,487,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,488,000 after acquiring an additional 4,398,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.22% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $55.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $78.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $30.65 and a fifty-two week high of $62.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.91.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.80 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 18.51%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.17%.

About Schlumberger

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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.