Schlumberger’s (SLB) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $65.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock.

SLB has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a buy rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $49.45 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.23. The stock has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger has a 1 year low of $42.73 and a 1 year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,458,430 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.4% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 11,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 32,845 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 10,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.9% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 4,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 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.