Analysts Set SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) Target Price at $61.35

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.35.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of SLB from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

SLB News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela expansion opportunity: SLB and Formentera Partners are working to reactivate drilling rigs in Venezuela or bring additional rigs into the country in the coming months. Separately, Venezuela signed agreements with SLB aimed at increasing oil production, potentially creating demand for drilling, well-construction and production services. The opportunity could be meaningful if operations proceed, but its timing depends on regulatory, political and logistical conditions. Reuters article on SLB and Formentera in Venezuela
• Positive Sentiment: Brunei Shell Petroleum contract: SLB won a contract to restore production from shut-in wells across multiple offshore fields. The scope includes subsurface evaluation, well selection, engineering, intervention services, monitoring, metering and offshore execution, providing a broad, integrated services opportunity with Shell-affiliated customer Brunei Shell Petroleum. SLB Brunei Shell Petroleum contract
• Positive Sentiment: Potential upstream spending support: Industry commentary suggests rising upstream investment could benefit SLB through stronger demand for drilling, production and oilfield technology services. This supports the company’s longer-term growth outlook if energy companies continue increasing capital budgets. Upstream spending outlook for SLB

SLB Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $53.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.18. SLB has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $58.82. The company has a market capitalization of $79.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released 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 net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that SLB will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is 57.00%.

Institutional Trading of SLB

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in SLB by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,628,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 24,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 10,522 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLB by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.