Canoe Financial LP Buys 3,103,468 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Canoe Financial LP boosted its SLB stake by 272.7% in the first quarter, buying 3,103,468 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 4,241,622 shares worth about $220.4 million.
• Several analysts turned more constructive on SLB, with firms including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Piper Sandler, and UBS raising price targets; the consensus rating is now Moderate Buy with a target price of $60.83.
• SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, slightly ahead of estimates, and declared a $0.295 quarterly dividend payable July 9, implying an annualized yield of about 2.5%.

Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 272.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,241,622 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,103,468 shares during the period. SLB comprises 3.0% of Canoe Financial LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Canoe Financial LP owned about 0.28% of SLB worth $220,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued 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 a consensus target price of $60.83.

SLB Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SLB opened at $46.95 on Monday. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.64 and a 52-week high of $58.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.45. The company has a market capitalization of $70.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.70.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. SLB's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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