Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Up 9.4% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) shot up 9.4% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $24.10 and last traded at $24.08. 548,804 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 451,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.02.

The oil and gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $130.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CLB shares. Bank of America reduced 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Core Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Core Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Core Laboratories by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 753,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,308,000 after acquiring an additional 133,375 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 9.0% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 639,071 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,915,000 after purchasing an additional 52,639 shares during the period. Gendell Jeffrey L raised its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 162,093 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 42,140 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 40.8% in the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 183,282 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,130,000 after purchasing an additional 53,090 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised 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 purchasing an additional 240,989 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

Core Laboratories Trading Up 9.3 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 2.41.

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.