Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Short Interest Update

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,970,000 shares, a drop of 9.4% from the March 31st total of 6,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 453,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.2 days. Currently, 12.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLB. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Core Laboratories in the third quarter worth $525,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 31.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,787 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,566 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Core Laboratories in the third quarter worth $31,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 8.7% in the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 153,146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 12,264 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 15.9% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,124,863 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,008,000 after purchasing an additional 154,608 shares during the period. 97.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.75.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:CLB traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $16.95. The stock had a trading volume of 300,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,586. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $794.96 million, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.40. Core Laboratories has a one year low of $13.82 and a one year high of $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $129.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.47 million. As a group, analysts expect that Core Laboratories will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.55%.

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.

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