Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Upgraded to “Hold” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.85.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $36.91 on Wednesday. Schlumberger has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 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.