Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Takes Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 116,510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,987,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,574,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the first quarter worth approximately $47,528,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in SLB by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,141,868 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,303,000 after buying an additional 128,660 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in SLB by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,367,063 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,468,000 after buying an additional 447,667 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in SLB by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 205,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,898,000 after acquiring an additional 81,045 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on SLB from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on SLB from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.35.

More SLB News

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB’s second-quarter earnings and revenue exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.51 consensus and revenue of $8.97 billion versus $8.67 billion expected. Revenue increased 5% year over year, renewing interest in the oilfield-services provider and energy ETFs with significant SLB exposure, including IEZ, OIH and XLE. How SLB’s Q2 Earnings Impact Energy ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its SLB price target to $63, while a Morgan Stanley analyst also expects the stock to rise. Analysts broadly remain optimistic after SLB outperformed the broader market over the past year. BMO Raises SLB Price Target Morgan Stanley’s SLB Outlook Wall Street Analysts’ View of SLB
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB has attracted unusually high investor attention, but the coverage does not identify a specific new fundamental catalyst beyond its earnings performance and analyst outlook. SLB Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite a roughly 93% five-year return, a discounted-cash-flow analysis indicates potential value above the current share price. However, the valuation depends on continued growth in energy services and SLB’s data-center infrastructure initiatives. SLB Valuation Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded SLB from “hold” to “strong sell,” creating a notable bearish counterpoint to the otherwise favorable analyst consensus. Zacks Downgrade Report

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

SLB Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:SLB opened at $48.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.77. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $58.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.53%.The business had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. SLB’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.00%.

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.