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

Key Points

• SLB has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 23 brokerage firms, with 16 buy ratings and 3 strong buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $60.83.
• Several analysts recently raised their price targets on the stock, including TD Cowen to $66, Susquehanna to $65, BMO Capital to $63, and Sanford C. Bernstein to $71.
• SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, slightly above estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, implying an annual yield of 2.5%.

Shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.8333.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $46.95 on Friday. SLB has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $58.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLB will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were 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 owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction 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 represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Abel Hall LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLB by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Capital Management lifted its position in shares of SLB by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 21,968 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.