Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading 0.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $54.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as high as $44.66 and last traded at $43.95. 7,422,533 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 13,251,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.58.

SLB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price target on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,258 shares of company stock valued at $11,246,604 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $470,425,000 after buying an additional 1,916,851 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Schlumberger by 14.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $598,544,000 after buying an additional 1,560,684 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,957,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,322,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.81. The stock has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.52. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.