Stifel Nicolaus Reaffirms Buy Rating for Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated their buy rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $64.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday. 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. HSBC reissued a buy rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $49.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger has a 12 month low of $42.73 and a 12 month high of $62.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Schlumberger will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total value of $420,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,581 shares in the company, valued at $819,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total transaction of $420,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,581 shares in the company, valued at $819,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock worth $4,458,430. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,883,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753,108 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.9% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 8,617,971 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth $1,000,292,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.