Zacks Research Downgrades California Resources (NYSE:CRC) to Strong Sell

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho raised their target price on California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down from $78.00) on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of California Resources from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of California Resources from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.90.

California Resources Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CRC opened at $52.15 on Wednesday. California Resources has a 52-week low of $43.24 and a 52-week high of $71.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. California Resources had a negative net margin of 16.10% and a positive return on equity of 10.12%. The company had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. California Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Resources will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In related news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $642,978.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 159,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,608,896. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in California Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in California Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Company Profile

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.