Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Dbs Bank began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.50 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.76. Schlumberger has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,150,168 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,352,771,000 after buying an additional 1,868,688 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 72.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,875,402,000 after acquiring an additional 37,333,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 14.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,712,897,000 after purchasing an additional 10,606,191 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position 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 worth $598,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Schlumberger by 35.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $635,883,000 after buying an additional 3,069,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.