Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on SLB (NYSE:SLB)

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 42,110 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 45% compared to the average daily volume of 29,077 call options.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total transaction of $1,412,927.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 175,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,456,607.50. The trade was a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total transaction of $197,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,795.22. This trade represents a 22.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 103,947 shares of company stock worth $3,871,337 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in SLB by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in SLB by 55.3% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in SLB during the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in SLB by 15.1% during the second quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,150 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on SLB from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on SLB from $47.60 to $52.30 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore ISI set a $54.00 price objective on shares of SLB and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.20.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $46.94 on Thursday. SLB has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $47.73. The firm has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. SLB had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Company Profile

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.