Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) traded up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $43.51 and last traded at $43.39. 1,869,777 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 11,226,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 297.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 79,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,331,000 after acquiring an additional 28,152 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at about $861,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Schlumberger by 93.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 163,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,958,000 after buying an additional 78,816 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at approximately $377,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Schlumberger

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.