Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. Baird R W lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, CLSA upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

NYSE CRL opened at $215.39 on Thursday. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $166.87 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.49. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,424 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).