Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Shares of Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.54, but opened at $17.36. Core Laboratories shares last traded at $18.27, with a volume of 37,468 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Core Laboratories from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.00.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $778.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $18.85 and its 200 day moving average is $19.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.24%. Research analysts forecast that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in Core Laboratories by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,653,591 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $104,761,000 after buying an additional 1,192,871 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Core Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $3,531,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 19.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 990,267 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $18,350,000 after acquiring an additional 161,278 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Core Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $1,960,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,021,121 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $18,921,000 after purchasing an additional 84,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.81% of the company's stock.

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.