California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CRC. Citigroup raised their target price on California Resources from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays raised their target price on California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRC stock opened at $66.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. California Resources has a 12-month low of $30.97 and a 12-month high of $71.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $924.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $789.67 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $1,514,626.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,182,916.77. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total value of $545,612.44. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,547.64. The trade was a 52.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in California Resources by 363.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in California Resources by 82.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in California Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.