California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.50.

CRC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock.

California Resources Stock Performance

California Resources stock opened at $59.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.08. California Resources has a 52-week low of $43.09 and a 52-week high of $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 $8,181,437.26. This trade represents a 4.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 represents a 36.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,387,778 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $446,326,000 after acquiring an additional 344,043 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in California Resources by 11.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,536 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 99.8% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 6,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Resources by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,109 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of California Resources by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,495 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after buying an additional 2,475 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.