Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading 0.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $43.93 and last traded at $43.38. Approximately 1,027,361 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 11,230,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.40 and its 200-day moving average is $44.67. The stock has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 31,510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 4,406 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Schlumberger by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,961,000 after purchasing an additional 156,698 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.9% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 24,276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 716,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 67.2% in the third quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 27,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 11,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.