SLB (NYSE:SLB) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• SLB hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $57.99 and ending near $57.98, reflecting strong recent momentum in the shares.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and average target of $59.74.
• SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, slightly ahead of estimates, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share to be paid July 9, implying a 2.0% annualized yield.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $57.99 and last traded at $57.98, with a volume of 740391 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SLB shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price objective on SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.74.

SLB Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $86.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.65.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. SLB's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In related news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SLB

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter valued at about $206,000. Vestor Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 663.2% in the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,987,000. Boothe Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Boothe Investment Group Inc. now owns 158,750 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,158,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,544 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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