Short Interest in Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Declines By 6.5%

Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,290,000 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 6,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 309,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 20.3 days. Currently, 13.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLB traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.73. 265,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,069. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $926.51 million, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.39. Core Laboratories has a 1-year low of $13.82 and a 1-year high of $25.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.13 and its 200-day moving average is $19.57.

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

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. Core Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CLB shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Core Laboratories from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLB. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,054 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 136,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 1.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Core Laboratories by 1.4% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. 97.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.