Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shares were up 1.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $44.12 and last traded at $43.97. Approximately 1,973,571 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 11,238,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $61.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.77.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued 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 2.52%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at $257,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Schlumberger by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 396,382 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,726,000 after purchasing an additional 51,637 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Schlumberger by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,901,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $89,723,000 after purchasing an additional 11,813 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 26.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,880,000 after buying an additional 63,413 shares during the period. 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.