Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.54, but opened at $17.36. Core Laboratories shares last traded at $18.27, with a volume of 37,468 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CLB shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Core Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Core Laboratories Stock Down 4.6 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.48. The company has a market cap of $795.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 2.39.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.43%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLB. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Core Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 33.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Core Laboratories by 11.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 18.8% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 10,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

About Core Laboratories

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.