In the first quarter of this year, the company’s EPS came in at $1.06, an upside surprise of 19%. Revenues dropped nearly 20% year-over-year in the first quarter, due almost entirely to low pricing and less exploration and drilling activity. The company has cut 20,000 jobs since the end of the third quarter of 2014.
Schlumberger stock is up about 1% through the first half of the year, and in the second quarter the stock gained more than 3%.
On the company’s side of the ledger, the number of drilled but uncompleted wells in the United States has been estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 wells, and if crude oil prices remain at least as high as $60 a barrel, more completions may be ordered. In late June, Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and a price target of $86.00, but it lowered its estimates for Schlumberger’s 2015 EPS from $3.90 to $3.50 and cut the 2016 EPS estimate from $3.88 to $3.51.
Schlumberger’s ruthless job cutting is largely responsible for its ability to maintain some semblance of its former profitability. Revenue dropped nearly 20% year-over-year in the first quarter, driven by the sharp decline in North American onshore activity and the associated pricing pressure. E&P companies’ investments in North America were forecast to be down 30% this year. A recovery in onshore activity in the United States could still get pushed out into next year.
In the mid-afternoon on Thursday, Schlumberger shares traded up less than 0.1%, at $83.69 in a 52-week range of $75.60 to $115.65. The consensus price target on the stock is $101.06.
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