Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading 0.3% Higher – What’s Next?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s share price rose 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $41.38 and last traded at $41.07. Approximately 2,772,774 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,969,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.