Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Short Interest Down 5.1% in November

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,500,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the November 15th total of 6,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 309,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 21.0 days. Currently, 14.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

Core Laboratories stock opened at $18.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $854.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 2.35. Core Laboratories has a 52-week low of $13.82 and a 52-week high of $25.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.69.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $134.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.16 million. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 15.84%. Core Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Core Laboratories will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.15%.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Core Laboratories by 288.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 62,042 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,053,204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,521,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 26.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Core Laboratories by 53.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 71,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 25,189 shares during the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Core Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Core Laboratories Company Profile

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.