California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Plans $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 4th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.3875 per share by the oil and gas producer on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th.

California Resources has increased its dividend payment by an average of 101.7% annually over the last three years. California Resources has a payout ratio of 36.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect California Resources to earn $4.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.55 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.0%.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC traded down $0.58 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,582. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.20. California Resources has a twelve month low of $38.02 and a twelve month high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.05). California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.36 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Capital One Financial raised California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.25.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $883,762.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,269.20. The trade was a 34.11 % 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 link. Company insiders own 0.03% 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.