Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $214.38.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRL shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Baird R W lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CRL opened at $195.77 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.86. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $176.48 and a 1 year high of $275.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.72 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. The trade was a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).