Brokerages Set SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Target Price at $53.16

Shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.1632.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on SLB in a report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Loop Capital set a $48.00 target price on SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th.

SLB Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $46.61 on Friday. SLB has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $52.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.82. The firm has a market cap of $70.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total value of $201,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,912.25. The trade was a 17.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in SLB in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 81.99% of the stock is 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.