SLB (NYSE:SLB) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $57.35 and last traded at $57.2090, with a volume of 2452950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $48.00 price objective on SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.74.

SLB Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $84.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.83 and its 200 day moving average is $46.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in SLB by 10.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in SLB by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,677,257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $57,647,000 after acquiring an additional 147,175 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of SLB by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,879,137 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,586,000 after acquiring an additional 54,600 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of SLB by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,973,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,830,000 after acquiring an additional 69,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 461,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.