Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 48,577 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 88.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,188 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 48,577 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in California Resources were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter worth $20,713,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in California Resources by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $446,326,000 after buying an additional 344,043 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in California Resources by 7,345.1% in the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 340,168 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $18,743,000 after buying an additional 335,599 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in California Resources by 49.1% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 627,553 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,472,000 after acquiring an additional 206,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,299,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $180,440,000 after acquiring an additional 190,588 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRC shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of California Resources from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America raised shares of California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on California Resources in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.75.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 20,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $47.97 per share, with a total value of $1,002,333.15. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 24,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,062. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Trading Down 5.2 %

NYSE CRC opened at $49.73 on Wednesday. California Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average of $51.39.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.36). California Resources had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.41%.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities.