David Rolfe (Trades, Portfolio) is the latest guru to dip his toe in oil as more value-conscious investors eye the commodity’s 45% price slump from June peaks. Rolfe picked up shares of Core Laboratories NV (CLB, Financial), a global reservoir optimization technology company that enables its clients to extract more oil and gas from wells.
Rolfe acquired 2,226,741 shares of the company reported Dec. 18 by GuruFocus Real Time Picks. His holding represents about 5% of the company. Core Laboratories shares traded around $121.68 per share on Friday, after a 36% decline year to date.
In the company’s third quarter results, reported Oct. 22, it announced its most profitable quarter in its history due to new technology and services and record profits in its Reservoir Management operations. Core’s third quarter net earnings increased 9% from a year ago to $67.9 million, or $1.53 per share. Revenue increased 1% year over year to $376.1 million.
In the past five years, Core Laboratories grew revenue at an annual average rate of 11.9%, EBITDA at 14.6% and free cash flow at 11.6%, while book value declined at 5.9%.Ă‚
On Oct. 6, Core started paying a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share.
Core Laboratories has a P/E ratio of 21.1, close to a five-year low, and a P/S ratio of 5, close to a three-year low.
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