Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target Lowered to $62.00 at Bank of America

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $63.00 to $62.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $49.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger has a 12-month low of $42.73 and a 12-month high of $62.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.23.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors 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 represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, 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 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,883,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753,108 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,922,768,000 after acquiring an additional 8,617,971 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 51,617,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,686,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,686 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,584,099,000 after acquiring an additional 282,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth about $1,000,292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.