SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twenty-three brokerages rate SLB a consensus “Moderate Buy,” with 18 buy ratings and two strong-buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $61.35, above the stock’s reported $53.77 opening price.
• SLB beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.55 in adjusted EPS versus the $0.51 consensus and $8.97 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Revenue increased 5% year over year, although EPS declined from $0.74 in the prior-year quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equivalent to $1.18 annually and a 2.2% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 81.99% of SLB’s outstanding shares.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.35.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of SLB in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on SLB from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on SLB from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $53.77 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.52 and a 200-day moving average of $51.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $79.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.73. SLB has a 1 year low of $31.64 and a 1 year high of $58.82.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. SLB had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLB will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. SLB's payout ratio is 57.00%.

Institutional Trading of SLB

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in SLB in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SLB in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 93.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 580 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

SLB Company 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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