Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.36.

A number of research firms have commented on CRL. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $176.20 on Tuesday. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $150.79 and a one year high of $274.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.76. The company has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,174.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,583,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 226.7% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,802 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 977,073 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $180,368,000 after purchasing an additional 5,805 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. 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).