Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Baird R W downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. CLSA upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL traded up $5.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $215.39. 625,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 615,989. The company has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $193.56 and its 200 day moving average is $208.61. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $166.87 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $346,821,000 after buying an additional 509,163 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $67,060,000 after buying an additional 238,766 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,615,000 after buying an additional 163,056 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,053,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $207,507,000 after acquiring an additional 110,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).