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

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.95 and last traded at $13.71, with a volume of 729774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.47. The firm has a market cap of $697.68 million, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.38.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.24%. As a group, analysts forecast that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.06%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLB. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Core Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Core Laboratories by 173.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 843.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,936 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Core Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,000. 97.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.