Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $11.04 and last traded at $11.44, with a volume of 897991 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CLB shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Core Laboratories from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Core Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Core Laboratories has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Core Laboratories Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $534.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $123.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.09 million. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,158,702 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,058,000 after purchasing an additional 46,941 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,058,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,329,000 after buying an additional 5,416 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 847,983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,678,000 after buying an additional 28,393 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 617,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,686,000 after buying an additional 16,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Core Laboratories by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 577,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,001,000 after acquiring an additional 78,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

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.