SLB (NYSE:SLB) Given New $60.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

SLB (NYSE:SLB) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of SLB from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Freedom Capital downgraded SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on SLB from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.96.

SLB Stock Down 1.4%

SLB stock opened at $47.90 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.36 and a 200 day moving average of $39.83. The firm has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.68. SLB has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $52.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This is an increase from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total value of $921,541.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 224,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,092,801.50. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 22,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,627.90. This represents a 37.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SLB by 100.0% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 40,415 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SLB by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,526,000 after buying an additional 22,706 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in SLB by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,220,000 after buying an additional 25,417 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in SLB by 4.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,354,000 after acquiring an additional 100,918 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of SLB by 1,937.4% in the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,265,000 after acquiring an additional 948,015 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SLB

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.