SLB (NYSE:SLB) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $40.20, but opened at $43.00. SLB shares last traded at $44.4380, with a volume of 15,387,534 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SLB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on SLB from $47.60 to $52.30 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on SLB from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.42.

SLB Trading Up 11.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.28 and a 200 day moving average of $35.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $67.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 10.34%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. SLB’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.02%.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total transaction of $1,412,927.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 175,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,456,607.50. This represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total value of $197,010.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,795.22. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 103,947 shares of company stock valued at $3,871,337 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLB

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its holdings in SLB by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 9,486 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 28,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,812 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in SLB by 2.9% during the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 67,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in SLB by 108.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 50,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 26,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of SLB by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 26,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 6,321 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SLB

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.