Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Earns Buy Rating from Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $64.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

SLB has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. HSBC reissued a buy rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $49.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger has a one year low of $42.73 and a one year high of $62.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total value of $420,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,581 shares in the company, valued at $819,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total transaction of $420,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $819,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock worth $4,458,430. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,278,000 after acquiring an additional 97,516 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in Schlumberger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,468,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Schlumberger by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Schlumberger by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,726,000 after acquiring an additional 35,763 shares in 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.