Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) Raised to “Buy” at Johnson Rice

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Johnson Rice from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $21.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock. Johnson Rice’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 67.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Core Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Core Laboratories from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Core Laboratories Price Performance

Core Laboratories stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.54. 135,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,896. Core Laboratories has a 1-year low of $9.79 and a 1-year high of $20.36. The firm has a market cap of $575.40 million, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 5.10%.The firm had revenue of $124.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Core Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.120-0.200 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Core Laboratories will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lawrence Bruno bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.78 per share, with a total value of $53,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 262,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,081.64. The trade was a 1.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Core Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $86,910,000. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in Core Laboratories by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,969,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $73,787,000 after buying an additional 528,976 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,079,882 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,371,000 after buying an additional 32,492 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Core Laboratories by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,041,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,729,000 after acquiring an additional 64,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Core Laboratories by 10.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,352,329 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,705,000 after purchasing an additional 122,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.81% of the company’s stock.

Core Laboratories Company Profile

Core Laboratories N.V. is a global provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description and production enhancement services to the oil and gas industry. The company applies specialized expertise in core and fluid analysis, advanced petrophysical interpretation, and reservoir engineering to optimize hydrocarbon recovery. By integrating laboratory testing with field services and digital analytics, Core Laboratories delivers insights that help operators maximize production and extend the life of their assets.

The company’s portfolio spans two primary service lines: reservoir description and production enhancement.