SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $61.52 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly positive on SLB: Twenty-four of 28 covering firms rate the stock a buy, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average 12-month price target of $61.52.
• SLB exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.64 in EPS versus a $0.62 estimate and $9.45 billion in revenue, up 5.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295, equivalent to $1.18 annually and a 2.2% yield; institutional investors own nearly 82% of outstanding shares.

Shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.52.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Freedom Broker raised shares of SLB from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on SLB from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $53.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $79.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.83. SLB has a twelve month low of $34.65 and a twelve month high of $60.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $52.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.37.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. SLB had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that SLB will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.2950 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. SLB's payout ratio is presently 57.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Howard Guild sold 10,047 shares of SLB stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total value of $539,021.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at $689,134.25. This trade represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 20,986 shares of SLB stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,124,220.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,053 shares in the company, valued at $10,984,689.21. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in SLB in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,339,567,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in SLB by 6,358.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,134,731 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $471,164,000 after buying an additional 9,977,804 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in SLB during the 2nd quarter worth $185,474,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in SLB by 82.3% during the 2nd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 7,730,966 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $358,936,000 after buying an additional 3,489,344 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 2,928.3% during the second quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 2,825,743 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $131,369,000 after buying an additional 2,732,433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

About SLB

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, is a global energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources across the life cycle of an oil or gas field.

The company provides reservoir characterization, drilling and well-construction services, well completion and production technologies, and equipment for subsea and surface operations. SLB also develops software, data and automation solutions designed to help energy companies improve operational efficiency, manage reservoirs and reduce emissions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.