California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CRC. Bank of America raised shares of California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stephens started coverage on California Resources in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on California Resources in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, California Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

California Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CRC stock opened at $57.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.94. California Resources has a twelve month low of $43.09 and a twelve month high of $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.13 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. California Resources’s payout ratio is 24.41%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In related news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was 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. This represents a 36.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,387,778. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRC. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in California Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,847,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 44.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,693 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,950,000 after buying an additional 22,150 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $682,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new position in shares of California Resources in the second quarter worth $2,213,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 470,694 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,050,000 after buying an additional 130,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Company Profile

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.