Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shares fell 0.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $41.72 and last traded at $41.81. 4,104,861 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 14,820,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SLB. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $59.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock valued at $8,732,604. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,961,000 after purchasing an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 269.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently 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.