Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s stock price traded up 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.17 and last traded at $41.94. 4,198,361 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 14,498,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SLB. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $59.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock valued at $8,732,604. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 100,979 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after buying an additional 4,575 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 392,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,537,000 after acquiring an additional 6,998 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 45,577.8% in the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,204 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 59.3% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 272,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,859,000 after acquiring an additional 101,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 4.7% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 84,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,839 shares during the last quarter. 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.