Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.32.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Schlumberger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $1,062,623.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. This trade represents a 44.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,647 shares of company stock worth $2,390,279 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,986,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,913,312,000 after purchasing an additional 5,225,828 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,146,195,000 after buying an additional 1,377,134 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,737,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,101,804,000 after buying an additional 3,119,543 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 27,836,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,067,254,000 after buying an additional 343,261 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $735,398,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.76. The stock had a trading volume of 18,079,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,283,854. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $50.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $38.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.20.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $8.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.64%.

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.