Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading 1.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) traded up 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.68 and last traded at $40.74. 3,167,627 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,671,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $56.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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.