SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.2778.

SLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of SLB from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SLB in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $48.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, November 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB news, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total value of $197,010.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,671 shares in the company, valued at $668,795.22. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 202,201 shares in the company, valued at $7,295,412.08. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 143,674 shares of company stock worth $5,304,687 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SLB during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SLB during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Trading Up 0.2%

SLB opened at $38.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.01. The company has a market capitalization of $57.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.73. SLB has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $44.66.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 10.34%.SLB’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that SLB will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.02%.

About SLB

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.