Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Given “Buy” Rating at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated their buy rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $64.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SLB. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $49.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Schlumberger has a one year low of $42.73 and a one year high of $62.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,825.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $1,052,607.15. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 31,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,623,855.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,621 shares of company stock valued at $6,691,623 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,883,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753,108 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,922,768,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617,971 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 51,617,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,686,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,686 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,584,099,000 after buying an additional 282,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,000,292,000. Hedge funds and other 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.