Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Dbs Bank began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $43.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Schlumberger has a 12 month low of $38.66 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.76.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 204.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Company Profile

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.