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Personally, I think this decline only creates a chance to buy. After all, SLB's net income was up 35% for the quarter, driven mostly by its international efforts. SLB has been assiduously building its international profile, and developing its ability to deliver custom services in each foreign location, and so I'm not surprised the company's bottom line is reaping the benefits of these efforts.
I also expect this growth to continue. SLB's equipment and services are aimed at the kind of unconventional drilling needed to find new sources -- the type of drilling that will only become more important as we keep using up reserves. As I wrote in January, SLB is one of the top two companies in the world for just about every type of product and service it offers, and it invests heavily in R&D to maintain its competitive edge.
Oil is a cyclical business and SLB has to deal with some unreliable governments, so this is a somewhat risky stock, but I think it has potential to keep growing and to make you some money if you get it at the right price.
Type of Stock: One of the leading oil services companies in the world.
Price Target: I'd be tempted to grab the stock around $100, where it's trading after Friday's tumble, but my advice would be to sit tight and see where it goes early in the week. You may be able to grab it in the mid $90s, which I think would leave you some room to enjoy some nice growth.
Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. My company, Global Energy Carbide, LLC is a small vendor to SLB. They are absolutely the most professional, yet friendly, people we deal with. They pay on time (Net 30) by electronic transfer. Paying on time is not always the case in the oil service industry. We wish every company was as great to deal with as SLB.
And, yes, I personally have a few share of SLB.
Posted at 12:12PM on Oct 22nd 2007 by Donna Digman