Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $198.36.

CRL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL opened at $175.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,167.55, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $150.79 and a fifty-two week high of $274.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.99 and a 200 day moving average of $185.45.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. The trade was a 3.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).