Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Gap Down to $50.94

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $50.94, but opened at $49.66. Schlumberger shares last traded at $49.77, with a volume of 2,417,098 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Schlumberger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.31.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total value of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,870.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,191 shares of company stock worth $8,636,322 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,278,000 after purchasing an additional 97,516 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,468,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,726,000 after acquiring an additional 35,763 shares in the last quarter. 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.