Barclays Lowers Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target to $53.00

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $61.00 to $53.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 36.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SLB. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.15.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.81. 2,250,400 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,144,459. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.51 and a 200 day moving average of $43.89. 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 1-year low of $38.44 and a 1-year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $47,000. 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.