Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $231.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRL shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $188.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12-month low of $161.65 and a 12-month high of $275.00. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.06.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the second quarter worth approximately $5,422,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 50,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,422,000 after acquiring an additional 6,011 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 73.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 239,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,561,000 after acquiring an additional 101,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.6% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 88,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,258,000 after acquiring an additional 7,736 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).