Brokerages Set Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Target Price at $18.75

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the four analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.75.

Several research firms have issued reports on CLB. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

Core Laboratories stock opened at $20.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $959.11 million, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.41. Core Laboratories has a one year low of $13.82 and a one year high of $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.92.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $129.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.47 million. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 8.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Core Laboratories will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLB. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 10,825,657 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $184,902,000 after buying an additional 1,837,258 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,606,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,443,000 after acquiring an additional 240,989 shares during the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 326,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,583,000 after purchasing an additional 164,797 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Core Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $2,495,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 420,411 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,181,000 after purchasing an additional 145,161 shares during 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.