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

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $17.08, but opened at $17.84. Core Laboratories shares last traded at $18.51, with a volume of 15,426 shares changing hands.

The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $134.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Core Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLB. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Core Laboratories in the second quarter worth $36,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Core Laboratories in the third quarter worth $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Core Laboratories by 23.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Core Laboratories by 11.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,636 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Platinum Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Core Laboratories by 13.9% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,351 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.81% of the company's stock.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $18.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.96. The company has a market cap of $887.82 million, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

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.