Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $68.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock.

SLB has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.59.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $47.18 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.60. Schlumberger has a twelve month low of $42.61 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The stock has a market cap of $67.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total transaction of $216,281.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,956.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total value of $216,281.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,518 shares in the company, valued at $977,956.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 106,158 shares of company stock worth $5,099,893 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 11.9% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 16,234 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 38.7% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $635,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,395 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 88.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 57,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 27,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 233.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 216,385 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,860,000 after purchasing an additional 151,412 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.