Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Cut to “Neutral” at Griffin Securities

Griffin Securities cut shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.85.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $36.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.75. Schlumberger has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 6,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Schlumberger by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 6.5% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 31,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.