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

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 traded.

The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm had revenue of $134.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Core Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. Core Laboratories’s payout ratio is 4.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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 downgraded Core Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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, Core Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Core Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Core Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Platinum Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Core Laboratories Trading Up 10.8 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.54 and a 200-day moving average of $18.96. The company has a market capitalization of $887.82 million, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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.