Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Benchmark

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. They currently have a $68.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 38.10% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.2 %

SLB traded down $0.61 on Monday, reaching $49.24. 1,622,115 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,152,676. The company has a market cap of $70.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Schlumberger has a 52-week low of $42.73 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.36.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 38,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $1,944,699.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 386,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,504,523.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 38,570 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $1,944,699.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 386,841 shares in the company, valued at $19,504,523.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,883,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753,108 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,922,768,000 after buying an additional 8,617,971 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 51,617,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,686,173,000 after buying an additional 1,133,686 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,584,099,000 after buying an additional 282,709 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $1,000,292,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Schlumberger

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.