Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Trading Down 2.6% – What’s Next?

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) shares dropped 2.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.16 and last traded at $17.18. Approximately 189,113 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 409,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CLB shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Core Laboratories Stock Down 3.6 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $798.15 million, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $134.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Core Laboratories’s payout ratio is 6.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Core Laboratories by 8.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 516,119 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,472,000 after buying an additional 38,726 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Core Laboratories by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Core Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 25,584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 5,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

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.