Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $11.04 and last traded at $11.44, with a volume of 897991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CLB. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Core Laboratories from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut Core Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Core Laboratories from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.75.

Core Laboratories Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $559.41 million, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.87.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $123.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Core Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Core Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 6.78%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLB. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of Core Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Core Laboratories by 173.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 843.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,284 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.