Citigroup Cuts Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target to $50.00

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $53.00 to $50.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on SLB. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Five equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.85.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $36.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $52.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.75.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 6.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 332,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,683,000 after buying an additional 18,826 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 68.4% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 418.5% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 25,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 20,220 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 19.0% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% in the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 296,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,008,000 after buying an additional 60,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.