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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: SLB has an average rating of Moderate Buy from 23 analysts (1 sell, 3 hold, 16 buy, 3 strong buy) with an average 1‑year target price of $53.27.
• Earnings beat: SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.78 vs. $0.74 expected and revenue of $9.75 billion vs. $9.54 billion, with revenue up 5% year‑over‑year; market cap is about $77.9 billion and P/E is 21.88.
• Dividends and insider activity: The quarterly dividend was raised to $0.295 (annualized $1.18, yield ~2.3%, payout ratio ~49.8%), while insiders sold roughly 156,902 shares (~$7.8M) in the last three months even as institutional ownership sits near 82%.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.2684.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore set a $54.00 target price on shares of SLB and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

SLB Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $51.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $77.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.69. SLB has a 52 week low of $31.64 and a 52 week high of $54.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $49.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.61.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB's payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total transaction of $201,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,912.25. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 155,548 shares in the company, valued at $7,730,735.60. The trade was a 28.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in SLB by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter worth about $238,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in SLB in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,628,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its stake in SLB by 76.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 24,373 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 10,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in SLB by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently 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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