Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.81.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.75. 12,223,889 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,414,117. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.01. The firm has a market cap of $58.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,305,000 after acquiring an additional 65,318 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 269.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 26.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.