Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SLB. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $43.45 on Tuesday. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $38.66 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 72.3% in the first 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 buying an additional 37,333,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 14.1% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 10,606,191 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 35.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $635,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,395 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at about $92,944,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at about $91,364,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.