California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

CRC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.50.

California Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $57.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.94. California Resources has a 52-week low of $43.09 and a 52-week high of $60.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.13 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.42 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total value of $488,927.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,603.25. This represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,270 shares of company stock worth $1,387,778 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in California Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $4,847,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 44.7% in the 1st 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 third quarter worth approximately $682,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new position in California Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,213,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in California Resources by 38.4% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 470,694 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,050,000 after acquiring an additional 130,526 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is 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.