Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.61 and last traded at $14.94, with a volume of 42279 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CLB. Citigroup lifted their price target on Core Laboratories from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Core Laboratories Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $683.21 million, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 6.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLB. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in Core Laboratories by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,653,591 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $104,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,871 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,975,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,597,000 after purchasing an additional 56,187 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Core Laboratories by 4.2% during the 4th 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 raised its position in Core Laboratories by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Core Laboratories by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,021,121 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,921,000 after purchasing an additional 84,022 shares during the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.