Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $12.79 and last traded at $12.88, with a volume of 135476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Citigroup raised shares of Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $629.35 million, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.06.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 5.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.06%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Core Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Core Laboratories by 173.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 843.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $123,000. 97.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Core Laboratories Company Profile

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.