Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target Lowered to $70.00 at Susquehanna

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its price target decreased by Susquehanna from $77.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

SLB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Schlumberger from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC reissued a buy rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.18.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $46.42 on Thursday. Schlumberger has a 1 year low of $42.61 and a 1 year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.15.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total transaction of $216,281.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,956.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,158 shares of company stock worth $5,099,893 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 53.5% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,278,000 after buying an additional 97,516 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,726,000 after acquiring an additional 35,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,389,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.