Traders Buy High Volume of SLB Call Options (NYSE:SLB)

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 68,042 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 103% compared to the average volume of 33,524 call options.

Trending Headlines about SLB

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB launched a new Digital Marketplace that offers AI tools and applications, expanding its digital ecosystem and supporting a higher-growth software revenue stream. SLB Expands Digital Reach With New AI Marketplace Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Management said it aims to double digital business revenue to as much as $2 billion by 2030, and expects an additional $10 billion in annual digital spending over that period, signaling a meaningful long-term growth opportunity. SLB aims to double digital business revenue up to $2B by 2030
• Positive Sentiment: SLB’s investor-day commentary and CEO appearance on CNBC kept attention on its technology-led transformation and long-term international oil-production exposure, which may help reinforce confidence in the story. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch goes one-on-one with Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB was also highlighted as a trending stock by market-watch and research outlets, reflecting elevated investor interest rather than a clear new catalyst. Here is What to Know Beyond Why SLB Limited (SLB) is a Trending Stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SLB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLB

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLB by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 59,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,048,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Evansbrook LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 23,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,955 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 108,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,564,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLB Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.39. The company had a trading volume of 11,576,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,649,426. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.81 and its 200-day moving average is $48.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $72.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.70. SLB has a 52 week low of $31.64 and a 52 week high of $58.82.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that SLB will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

About SLB

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.