Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Down 2.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) fell 2.2% on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $54.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as low as $43.06 and last traded at $43.71. 2,889,086 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 10,997,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.70.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SLB. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Schlumberger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 50,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,499,397.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,076 shares in the company, valued at $10,141,615.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 50,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,499,397.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,141,615.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 120,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.19, for a total transaction of $6,056,326.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 247,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,432,012.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 180,716 shares of company stock worth $9,048,624 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Schlumberger by 72.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,875,402,000 after acquiring an additional 37,333,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,712,897,000 after buying an additional 10,606,191 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $635,883,000 after buying an additional 3,069,395 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,944,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,364,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $61.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The firm had revenue of $9.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.95%.

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.