Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading Up 0.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s stock price was up 0.8% on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $54.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as high as $44.66 and last traded at $43.95. Approximately 7,422,533 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 13,251,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.58.

SLB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Effects LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $360,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 27,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 5,053 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,055 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $363,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 4.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $58.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. 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.