SLB (NYSE:SLB) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• SLB shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $57.35 on Monday and recently changing hands near $57.21, up from the prior close of $55.38.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $59.74.
• SLB recently topped earnings expectations and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, yielding about 2.1% annually.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $57.35 and last traded at $57.2090, with a volume of 2452950 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.74.

SLB Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.72. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.77.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. SLB's payout ratio is 51.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Abel Hall LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 2.7% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 9.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management boosted its stake in SLB by 1.0% in the first quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 21,968 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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