Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Upgraded at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $16.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $15.00.

Core Laboratories Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of CLB opened at $15.31 on Wednesday. Core Laboratories has a 1-year low of $12.95 and a 1-year high of $25.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.10 and a 200 day moving average of $18.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $716.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.38. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.24%. On average, research analysts expect that Core Laboratories will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLB. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Core Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 173.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 2,688.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 843.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Core Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. 97.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.