Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 8.03%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 19.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Core Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $394,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 40.8% during the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 183,282 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,130,000 after buying an additional 53,090 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 17.6% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,606,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,443,000 after acquiring an additional 240,989 shares during the period. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 1.1% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Core Laboratories Trading Up 3.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $16.29 and its 200 day moving average is $17.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $799.90 million, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.40.

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.