Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC Increases Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC sharply increased its SLB stake by 415.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 936,962 shares worth about $36 million. The position now represents 3.5% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Several analysts turned more constructive on SLB, with firms like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Barclays, and Sanford C. Bernstein raising price targets. The stock now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $60.67.
• SLB reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, topping estimates by a penny, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share. The dividend implies a 2.1% yield and is payable on July 9.

Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC boosted its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 415.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 936,962 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 755,155 shares during the quarter. SLB comprises 3.5% of Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC owned approximately 0.06% of SLB worth $35,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SLB. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 841 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLB has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 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 directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB opened at $56.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.64 and a 200 day moving average of $48.51. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during 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%. SLB's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.53%.

SLB Profile

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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