Brokerages Set Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Target Price at $70.87

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.87.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $54.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $78.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.59. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.96 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 34.25%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.