Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $12.62, but opened at $13.24. Core Laboratories shares last traded at $13.59, with a volume of 216,075 shares trading hands.

The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $130.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 6.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Core Laboratories from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Core Laboratories from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Core Laboratories from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLB. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 2.7% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 33,486 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 5.0% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,556 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 92.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,887 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 55,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.81% of the company's stock.

Core Laboratories Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $561.15 million, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $11.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.84.

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.