Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Down 2.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) dropped 2.3% on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $49.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as low as $40.79 and last traded at $40.85. Approximately 5,242,577 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 10,916,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.81.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $492,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,428.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $492,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,428.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 50,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,499,397.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,141,615.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 180,716 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,624. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in Schlumberger by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 6,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Schlumberger by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 2,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Team Hewins LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 7,924 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $60.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.18.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 12.56%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Schlumberger Company Profile

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.