SLB (NYSE:SLB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Rothschild Redb

Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of SLB (NYSE:SLB) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SLB from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of SLB from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.28.

SLB Price Performance

SLB opened at $36.12 on Monday. SLB has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.97.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.02. SLB had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. SLB’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLB will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.02%.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 202,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at $764,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of SLB by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 29,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,243,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 47,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 5,896 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 2,296 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLB 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.