Analysts Set Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Price Target at $56.03

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.81.

SLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock valued at $8,732,604. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.99 on Friday. 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 market cap of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.79. Schlumberger has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Schlumberger will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

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.