Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Trading 5.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Core Laboratories Stock Up 0.7 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.42. The firm has a market cap of $998.63 million, a PE ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.48.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last posted its 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 company 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. Core Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.15%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Core Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Core Laboratories in the third quarter worth $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Core Laboratories by 23.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Core Laboratories by 11.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 12.8% during the second 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.