Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives $214.38 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.38.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of CRL stock opened at $197.75 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $176.48 and a 1 year high of $275.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.19 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $736,819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738,018 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.7% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,908,989 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $394,359,000 after buying an additional 31,359 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $346,821,000 after buying an additional 509,163 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,507,000 after buying an additional 110,725 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).