Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Trading Down 6.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Core Laboratories' stock price fell by 6.5%, trading as low as $12.49, with a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have downgraded the stock, with Citigroup reducing its target price from $16.00 to $13.00 and changing its rating to "neutral."
• The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue decreased by 0.3% year-over-year.
• Core Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.32%.

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 6.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $12.54 and last traded at $12.49. 155,323 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 450,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Core Laboratories from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Core Laboratories from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Core Laboratories from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Core Laboratories Stock Down 2.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $543.85 million, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 5.73%. The firm had revenue of $130.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $129.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $155,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $146,000. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 14.2% in the second quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,869 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Core Laboratories by 7.6% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,926 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Core Laboratories by 1.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 138,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,078,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.