Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Trading 5.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) rose 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.54 and last traded at $21.41. Approximately 42,411 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 419,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Core Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.00.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $998.63 million, a PE ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 2.35.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $134.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.15%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,392,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $92,096,000 after purchasing an additional 27,701 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 446.8% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,460,720 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,508,000 after acquiring an additional 3,644,963 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 106.5% during the 1st quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 61,005 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 306,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,215,000 after acquiring an additional 34,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 6.3% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,286,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $66,682,000 after purchasing an additional 195,756 shares in the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.