Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Given New $13.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $16.00 to $13.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CLB. StockNews.com lowered Core Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Core Laboratories from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Core Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Core Laboratories Trading Up 3.6%

CLB opened at $12.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $586.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.45. Core Laboratories has a 1-year low of $10.14 and a 1-year high of $25.13.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $123.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.09 million. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. Analysts expect that Core Laboratories will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Core Laboratories by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 41,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 617,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,686,000 after purchasing an additional 16,503 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Core Laboratories by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 443,621 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,679,000 after buying an additional 26,237 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Core Laboratories by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,966,000 after buying an additional 6,827 shares in the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.