SLB (NYSE:SLB) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• SLB reached a new 52-week high after Citigroup raised its price target from $59 to $68 and kept a buy rating, while multiple other firms also raised targets—MarketBeat shows an average price target of $58.95 and an average rating of Moderate Buy.
• Quarterly results: SLB reported $0.52 EPS, beating estimates by $0.01 while revenue of $8.72B slightly missed expectations; the company has a market cap of about $85.6B and a P/E of 24.86.
• Strong institutional backing and dividend: Roughly 81.99% of shares are held by institutions with several large investors increasing stakes, and SLB declared a $0.295 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.18) for a yield of about 2.1%.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $59.00 to $68.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. SLB traded as high as $57.05 and last traded at $56.9340, with a volume of 8778246 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.70.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded SLB from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on SLB from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Sunday. Three investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.95.

Institutional Trading of SLB

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,732,000 after buying an additional 40,415 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,526,000 after buying an additional 22,706 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of SLB by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,220,000 after buying an additional 25,417 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of SLB by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $72,354,000 after buying an additional 100,918 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of SLB by 1,937.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $34,265,000 after buying an additional 948,015 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLB Stock 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 50 day moving average price of $50.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.20. The company has a market capitalization of $85.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.69.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

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

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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