Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $68.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company 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 research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.7 %

SLB stock opened at $49.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.32. The company has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total value of $977,594.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,782,747.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,621 shares of company stock worth $6,691,623 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in Schlumberger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 58,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 158,255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,674,000 after acquiring an additional 43,502 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter worth $807,000. Finally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at $322,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Company Profile

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.