Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their overweight rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $65.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SLB. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $49.11 on Monday. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.25. The company has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. 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 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock worth $4,458,430. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Keene & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 66,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 38,651 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,119,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 22,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 133.4% in the 1st quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 70,635 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,872,000 after buying an additional 40,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 283.1% in the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 32,882 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,802,000 after buying an additional 24,298 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.