Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Up 0.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s share price rose 0.8% on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $63.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as high as $52.91 and last traded at $52.42. Approximately 2,466,570 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 11,204,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.31.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total transaction of $420,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $819,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.96 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 34.25%.

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.