Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shares fell 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $39.81 and last traded at $40.09. 3,110,403 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 14,532,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.28.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Schlumberger by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% in the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.