Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $214.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. CLSA downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total value of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock opened at $183.16 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.33 and a 200-day moving average of $202.55. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12-month low of $176.48 and a 12-month high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).