Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading Up 0.9% - Here's Why

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) traded up 0.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.70 and last traded at $41.70. 2,081,352 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 15,078,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $40.49 and its 200-day moving average is $42.58.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. State Street Corp grew its stake in Schlumberger by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,808,476,000 after acquiring an additional 528,279 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,195,290,000 after purchasing an additional 239,966 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $310,696,000 after buying an additional 915,925 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.