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

Shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.3842.

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $48.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $54.00 target price on SLB and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $50.82 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.89. SLB has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $52.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total value of $921,541.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 224,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,092,801.50. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,730,735.60. The trade was a 28.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 162,402 shares of company stock worth $7,993,676 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in SLB during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

About SLB

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.