Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on SLB (NYSE:SLB)

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 72,848 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 167% compared to the average daily volume of 27,234 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of SLB from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLB currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.42.

SLB Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE SLB opened at $38.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $56.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.40. SLB has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $44.66.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. SLB had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction of $2,261,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 159,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,692.99. The trade was a 27.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total transaction of $1,412,927.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 175,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,456,607.50. This represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 103,947 shares of company stock worth $3,871,337 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in SLB by 23.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 185,374,879 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,371,335,000 after acquiring an additional 35,057,313 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 83,617,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,898,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466,786 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLB by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,233,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $683,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,719,852 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the second quarter worth $618,697,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of SLB by 25.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,366,347 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $528,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,094,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting SLB

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB won a material five‑year, multi‑year contract from Saudi Aramco to provide stimulation, well intervention, frac automation and digital solutions for unconventional gas development — a deal that strengthens SLB’s backlog, revenue visibility and long‑term exposure to rising global gas demand. Business Wire: Aramco Awards SLB Long-Term Contract
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call buying occurred (≈72,848 calls, ~167% above normal), indicating short‑term bullish bets by traders/speculators that could amplify upside moves or signal positioning ahead of contract cash flow recognition or guidance updates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analyst/press pieces revisited SLB’s valuation and outlook following the contract and recent share‑price rebound; these stories may influence sentiment but don’t change fundamentals until analysts update estimates. Zacks: Is SLB a Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in December to 41,255,231 shares (up ~38.7% vs. Nov. 30), now about 2.8% of shares outstanding with a short‑interest ratio ~2.6 days — a sign of increased bearish positioning that can weigh on the stock if selling continues or if market sentiment softens.

SLB Company Profile

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.