Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Schlumberger Limited saw a significant decrease in short interest, dropping 43.8% in July to 35,850,000 shares, representing only 2.7% of the company's stock sold short.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $0.74 for the latest quarter, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenues declined 6.5% year-over-year.
• Schlumberger's recent quarterly dividend of $0.285 is set for payment on October 9th, resulting in a 3.4% dividend yield based on its annualized payout.

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 35,850,000 shares, adropof43.8% from the July 15th total of 63,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 15,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately2.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Approximately2.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 15,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total transaction of $167,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,525 shares in the company, valued at $789,969.50. This trade represents a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Schlumberger by 300.0% during the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 636 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Schlumberger by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SLB. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.28.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB traded up $0.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,145,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,351,181. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.03. Schlumberger has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $46.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.54.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.51 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is presently 39.04%.

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.

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