Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $61.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

SLB has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.25.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE SLB traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.59. 10,310,538 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,934,919. The stock has a market cap of $54.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Schlumberger has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.37.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter worth about $91,364,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $470,425,000 after buying an additional 1,916,851 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Schlumberger by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $598,544,000 after buying an additional 1,560,684 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,067,465 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $333,445,000 after acquiring an additional 915,705 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the second quarter worth $42,957,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

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.