Analysts Set Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Target Price at $19.88

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CLB. StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Core Laboratories Stock Performance

CLB opened at $17.40 on Friday. Core Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $13.82 and a fifty-two week high of $27.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $815.36 million, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 2.40.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $128.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.80 million. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 15.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Core Laboratories will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 13.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in Core Laboratories by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,447 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 1.2% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 39,608 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 1.1% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 57,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 13,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. 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.