Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shot up 0.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $43.93 and last traded at $43.38. 1,027,361 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 11,230,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SLB. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $60.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.61. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 204.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 90.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.