Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Given New $48.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on SLB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.09.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $38.40 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.37. Schlumberger has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 17.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 31,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its position 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 period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.