Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Down 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) were down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.09 and last traded at $13.14. Approximately 226,924 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 319,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CLB. Citigroup lifted their target price on Core Laboratories from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of 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 given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Core Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Core Laboratories Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $642.23 million, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.53.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.24%. Equities analysts predict that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Core Laboratories’s payout ratio is 6.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Core Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 173.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 843.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Core Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.