California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.29.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRC. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays increased their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on California Resources in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st.

California Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE CRC opened at $54.24 on Friday. California Resources has a 12 month low of $43.09 and a 12 month high of $57.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.33 and its 200 day moving average is $51.10.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.07 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 7.61%. California Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.3875 dividend. This is a boost from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. California Resources’s payout ratio is 44.41%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other California Resources news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $530,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,301 shares in the company, valued at $916,953. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other California Resources news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $530,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $916,953. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 3.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,109 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in California Resources by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 32,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 56,452 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,111,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC grew its position in shares of California Resources by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 7.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,937 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.