UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Price

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $63.00 to $75.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CRC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of California Resources from $56.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on California Resources from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, California Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.90.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of California Resources stock traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.21. 229,472 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 825,070. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.29 and a 200-day moving average of $50.22. California Resources has a 1 year low of $30.97 and a 1 year high of $65.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.12.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $789.67 million. California Resources had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. California Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of California Resources by 82.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in California Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) is an independent exploration and production company focused exclusively on developing oil and natural gas assets in California. Headquartered in Newport Beach, the company engages in hydraulic fracturing, well completions, reservoir management and enhanced recovery operations to produce crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CRC’s operations are concentrated in three core regions: the Los Angeles Basin, the Ventura Basin and the San Joaquin Basin.