Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.53, but opened at $17.84. Core Laboratories shares last traded at $17.40, with a volume of 190,932 shares changing hands.

The oil and gas company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The company had revenue of $129.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.47 million.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Core Laboratories from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Core Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 328,435 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,886,000 after purchasing an additional 93,354 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 436,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,479,000 after acquiring an additional 88,013 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 27,524 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Core Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,071,000. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC grew its stake in Core Laboratories by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 38,348 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

Core Laboratories Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $813.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.25 and its 200 day moving average is $17.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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.