Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target Raised to $54.00 at Citigroup

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE SLB opened at $43.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $40.84 and a 200-day moving average of $42.81.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.29 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, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, 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 value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,258 shares of company stock worth $11,246,604 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 20.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,851 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 14.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $598,544,000 after buying an additional 1,560,684 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,957,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter worth about $37,322,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $25,481,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.