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Bull of the Day: Schlumberger (SLB)

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Schlumberger (SLB - Free Report) is quietly growing its earnings as energy moves into a multiyear bull cycle. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is expected to see double digit earnings growth this year and in 2023.

Schlumberger describes itself as a technology company that partners with customers to access energy. It deploys digital solutions and innovative technologies in the energy industry, including oil and natural gas.

It has expertise in 120 countries.

A Perfect Earnings Surprise Record

On Oct 21, 2022, Schlumberger reported its third quarter results and beat the Zacks Consensus by $0.08. Earnings were $0.63 compared to the Zacks Consensus of just $0.55.

It was another beat in a 5-year perfect earnings track record. That's impressive as it includes the pandemic and the collapse of the crude market in 2020.

Revenue rose 28% year-over-year and 10% from the second quarter to $7.5 billion. International revenue drove the quarter as it was up 13% sequentially to $5.9 billion while North America was flat sequentially at $1.5 billion.

Revenue growth was propelled by Well Construction and Production Systems as global activity strengthened, particularly in the offshore and international markets.

Well Construction revenue was up 15% sequentially, outperforming global rig count growth due to strong activity and pricing improvements in Europe/CIA/Africa and Latin America.

Production Systems revenue rose 14% sequentially on higher product deliveries and backlog conversion, mostly in international offshore basins.

Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates

Schlumberger was bullish about the fourth quarter, saying it expected to deliver further sequential revenue growth and margin expansion.

9 estimates are higher for 2022 in the last 2 months, including one in just the last week, pushing up the Zacks Consensus Estimate to $2.15 from $2.02 during that time.

That is earnings growth of 68% as Schlumberger made just $1.28 last year.

9 estimates have also been revised for 2023 in the last 60 days as well. The 2023 Zacks Consensus Estimate has jumped to $3.03 from $2.76 in that time.

That's another earnings growth of 40.6%.

What does it all look like on the chart? It's bullish.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

It's a perfect price and consensus chart.

Shares Up Big in 2022

Shares of Schlumberger have been on a volatile ride in 2022 but are now up 60.4% on the year. That is outperforming the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) which his down 17.6% during that time.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Shares are not cheap, even with the earnings on the rise. It trades with a forward P/E of 23.9 but has a PEG ratio of just 0.6. A PEG under 1.0 usually indicates a company has both growth and value. That's a powerful combination.

Schlumberger is shareholder friendly. It saw free cash flow of $1.1 billion in the third quarter and pays a dividend currently yielding 1.4%.

For investors looking for a growth and value energy stock, Schlumberger is one to add to the short list.


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