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

Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.50.

CRC has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This represents a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,531 shares in the company, valued at $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % 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 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of California Resources by 61.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in California Resources during the third quarter worth $70,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in California Resources by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Stock Up 0.0 %

CRC stock opened at $59.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.08. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. California Resources has a 12-month low of $43.09 and a 12-month 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. 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 company earned $1.02 earnings per share. California Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

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.