SLB (NYSE:SLB) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of SLB (NYSE:SLB) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SLB. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.35.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $53.66 on Tuesday. SLB has a 12 month low of $31.64 and a 12 month high of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.34. The company has a market cap of $79.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.73.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.53%.The company had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that SLB will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,628,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 76.0% during the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 24,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 10,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 7.6% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New North Sea carbon-storage contract: SLB was selected as strategic reservoir partner for Norway’s Havstjerne carbon-storage project. The company will provide reservoir technology and engineering services during the concept and front-end engineering and design phases, strengthening its position in Europe’s emerging carbon-capture and storage market. SLB selected as reservoir partner for Havstjerne carbon storage project
• Positive Sentiment: Potential Venezuelan growth opportunity: A contract with Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA reportedly gives SLB access to the country’s oilfield data. Access to data from one of the world’s largest oil-reserve holders could create opportunities for future reservoir evaluation, production optimization and oilfield-services work, though the commercial benefits remain uncertain. SLB gains access to Venezuela’s coveted oilfield data through contract
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO share sale: Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch sold 25,000 SLB shares under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it does not necessarily signal a change in management’s view of the company, but it can still attract investor attention. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch executes sale of 25,000 shares
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading weakness: SLB declined in the prior session even as the broader market advanced, indicating some relative investor caution despite the new project announcements. SLB stock falls amid market uptick

SLB Company Profile

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.