Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CLB. Bank of America lowered their price target on Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Core Laboratories from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 20th.

Core Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of CLB opened at $17.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $805.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.40. Core Laboratories has a 52-week low of $13.82 and a 52-week high of $27.94.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $128.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.80 million. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 15.19%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Core Laboratories will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 43.1% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,447 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 9,913.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,502 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 185.7% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 97.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Core Laboratories Company Profile

Core Laboratories Inc provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock and reservoir fluid samples to enhance production and improve recovery of crude oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs.