Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shot up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $40.59 and last traded at $40.27. 2,524,293 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 11,122,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank assumed coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price target on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $57.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.63 and its 200-day moving average is $45.31.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Capital World Investors raised its position in Schlumberger by 72.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,875,402,000 after buying an additional 37,333,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 14.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,712,897,000 after acquiring an additional 10,606,191 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $635,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,395 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,944,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the second quarter worth approximately $91,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

About Schlumberger

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.