SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.2778.

A number of research firms have weighed in on SLB. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SLB in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Redburn Partners set a $48.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st.

SLB Stock Up 0.2%

SLB stock opened at $38.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. SLB has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $44.66.

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

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $1,412,927.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 175,690 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,607.50. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total transaction of $197,010.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,671 shares in the company, valued at $668,795.22. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 143,674 shares of company stock worth $5,304,687 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of SLB by 108.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 50,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 26,222 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in SLB by 31.1% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 26,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 6,321 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 10.0% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 503,596 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,293,000 after acquiring an additional 45,831 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 0.6% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 564,695 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at $404,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

About SLB

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.