Schlumberger’s (SLB) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their overweight rating on shares of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $65.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $49.45 on Monday. Schlumberger has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.23. The company has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock worth $4,458,430. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.