SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and twenty-four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.52.

Several analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of SLB from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of SLB from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on SLB in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Freedom Broker raised SLB from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $51.44 on Friday. SLB has a 12 month low of $34.65 and a 12 month high of $60.46. The stock has a market cap of $75.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. SLB had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLB will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2950 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Howard Guild sold 10,047 shares of SLB stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total transaction of $539,021.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $689,134.25. This trade represents a 43.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,124,220.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 205,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,984,689.21. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in SLB by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 91,222,641 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,267,269,000 after purchasing an additional 722,060 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 28,913,733 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,344,199,000 after buying an additional 537,566 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 2nd quarter worth $1,339,567,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of SLB by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 19,815,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $921,211,000 after buying an additional 2,698,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of SLB by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,901,998 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $817,246,000 after buying an additional 169,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Company Profile

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, is a global energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources across the life cycle of an oil or gas field.

The company provides reservoir characterization, drilling and well-construction services, well completion and production technologies, and equipment for subsea and surface operations. SLB also develops software, data and automation solutions designed to help energy companies improve operational efficiency, manage reservoirs and reduce emissions.