Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Core Laboratories has been upgraded to a "hold" rating from a "sell" by Wall Street Zen, signaling a change in analyst outlook for the company's stock.
• Other research firms, including Stifel Nicolaus and Citigroup, have also lowered their target prices for Core Laboratories' shares, indicating a cautious sentiment in the market.
• Despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline, Core Laboratories reported an increase in earnings per share, beating analyst expectations for the last quarter.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CLB. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Core Laboratories from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Core Laboratories from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th.

Core Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE CLB traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.73. The stock had a trading volume of 815,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.27. The stock has a market cap of $549.71 million, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.83 and a 200 day moving average of $13.87. Core Laboratories has a 52-week low of $10.14 and a 52-week high of $25.13.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $130.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.19 million. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 5.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Core Laboratories will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 33,486 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 5.0% during 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 92.5% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 55,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 1,728 shares in 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.