SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.1632.

SLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Freedom Capital cut shares of SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on SLB from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $3,032,544.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,730,735.60. The trade was a 28.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total transaction of $921,541.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 224,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,092,801.50. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in SLB by 180.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,393,578 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $53,486,000 after purchasing an additional 895,987 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its position in SLB by 97.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 14,991 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 7,412 shares during the period. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in SLB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLB by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 90,211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after buying an additional 6,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLB Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $52.28 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.68. SLB has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $52.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLB will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. SLB’s payout ratio is 49.79%.

SLB Company Profile

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.