Barclays Lowers Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target to $70.00

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Barclays from $74.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.98% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.80.

Schlumberger Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $54.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,034,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,541,724. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Schlumberger has a twelve month low of $42.73 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The stock has a market cap of $77.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $8.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total transaction of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,870.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 18,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 59,333 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 11,809 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 51,434 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,819,000 after buying an additional 6,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,087 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

About Schlumberger

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.