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

Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays started coverage on California Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th.

California Resources Price Performance

California Resources stock opened at $52.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. California Resources has a 12 month low of $43.30 and a 12 month high of $58.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.61 and its 200-day moving average is $51.86.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $454.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.21 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 55.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that California Resources will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. California Resources’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.10, for a total transaction of $1,779,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,047,565.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of California Resources during the first quarter worth about $540,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in California Resources by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 32,209 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in California Resources by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 287,468 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,839,000 after acquiring an additional 6,312 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 6.2% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hyperion Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the first quarter valued at $275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.