SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.1632.

SLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on SLB from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Loop Capital set a $48.00 target price on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,730,735.60. This represents a 28.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $2,982,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,602 shares in the company, valued at $6,987,919.40. This represents a 29.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of SLB by 180.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,393,578 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $53,486,000 after purchasing an additional 895,987 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of SLB by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 14,991 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 7,412 shares during the last quarter. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in SLB during the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in SLB by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 90,211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after buying an additional 6,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $47.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.98. SLB has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $52.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.68.

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

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. SLB’s payout ratio is 49.79%.

SLB Company Profile

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.