Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Stock Price

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sell rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

Core Laboratories Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CLB opened at $16.87 on Thursday. Core Laboratories has a 52-week low of $13.82 and a 52-week high of $25.13. The company has a market capitalization of $789.79 million, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last issued its 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 return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 5.99%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Core Laboratories will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,975,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,597,000 after purchasing an additional 56,187 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,053,204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,521,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 617,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,686,000 after purchasing an additional 16,503 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Core Laboratories by 288.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 62,042 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Core Laboratories by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 41,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the period. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.