SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• SLB has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 23 covering firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $59.74. Recent calls were mixed, including a downgrade from Wall Street Zen and price-target increases from Citigroup and RBC.
• The stock was trading up 3.3% at $56.57, near its 1-year high of $58.82. SLB also reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, edging estimates, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year.
• SLB announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, payable July 9, implying an annualized yield of about 2.1%. Meanwhile, several insiders sold shares recently, even as institutional ownership remained high at 81.99%.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.7368.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Wall Street Zen cut SLB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price target on SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

SLB Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $56.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $84.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.66 and a 200-day moving average of $47.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. SLB has a 1-year low of $31.64 and a 1-year high of $58.82.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLB will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value 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 position. 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 SLB stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 93.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 580 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 71.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 780 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About SLB

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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