SLB (NYSE:SLB) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Price action: SLB hit a new 52-week high intraday at $54.80 but pulled back, last trading around $51.47 on heavy volume (~20.6M shares), roughly a 3.8% decline from the prior close.
• Analyst view: Wall Street's consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $53.16 average price target and a split of ratings (3 Strong Buy, 16 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell), with individual targets roughly $48–$57.
• Fundamentals: SLB beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.78 vs. $0.74; revenue $9.75B vs. $9.54B, +5% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 ($1.18 annualized, ~2.3% yield).

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $54.80 and last traded at $51.4730, with a volume of 20569742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Loop Capital set a $48.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore set a $54.00 price objective on SLB and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.16.

SLB Trading Down 3.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.48. The company has a market cap of $77.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.68.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business 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 company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total value of $201,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,912.25. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 22,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,627.90. The trade was a 37.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in SLB by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the second quarter valued at about $245,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 316.9% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in shares of SLB during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,000. 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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