SLB (NYSE:SLB) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

SLB (NYSE:SLB)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $61.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.78% from the stock’s current price.

SLB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SLB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.67.

SLB Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of SLB stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.09. 1,879,034 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,571,447. SLB has a 52-week low of $31.64 and a 52-week high of $58.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLB will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SLB in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in SLB by 93.3% during the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 71.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 780 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.