Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $68.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock.

SLB has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $49.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The stock has a market cap of $70.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.25.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $13,151,825.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,458,430 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $1,000,292,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 8,617,971 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 123,063.5% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 4,347,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $226,253,000 after acquiring an additional 4,344,141 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $286,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,693,000 after buying an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.