Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading 0.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) traded up 0.8% on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $54.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as high as $44.66 and last traded at $43.95. 7,422,533 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 13,251,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.58.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value 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. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,258 shares of company stock valued at $11,246,604. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Schlumberger by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,817 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.81. The company has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.