Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $17.08, but opened at $17.84. Core Laboratories shares last traded at $18.51, with a volume of 15,426 shares trading hands.

The oil and gas company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $134.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.16 million. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 5.44%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CLB. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Core Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in Core Laboratories by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 10,825,657 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $184,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837,258 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,392,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $92,096,000 after buying an additional 27,701 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 446.8% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,460,720 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,508,000 after buying an additional 3,644,963 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,286,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $66,682,000 after buying an additional 195,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Core Laboratories by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 729,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,807,000 after acquiring an additional 9,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

Core Laboratories Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $911.74 million, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.53 and its 200-day moving average is $18.97.

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.