Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Up 0.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s stock price shot up 0.8% during trading on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $63.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as high as $52.91 and last traded at $52.42. 2,466,570 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 11,204,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.00.

SLB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.96 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 34.25%.

Schlumberger Company Profile

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.