California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.9167.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRC. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of California Resources from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays set a $74.00 price target on California Resources and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on California Resources from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of CRC stock opened at $56.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.70 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.97 and its 200 day moving average is $58.55. California Resources has a twelve month low of $43.24 and a twelve month high of $71.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.36 by ($0.37). California Resources had a negative net margin of 3.79% and a positive return on equity of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently -119.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In other news, EVP Jay Bys sold 11,907 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. 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 owned 135,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,322,940. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 35,721 shares of company stock worth $1,928,934 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,181,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $186,968,000 after buying an additional 632,170 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of California Resources by 5,203.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,049,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $214,076,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972,759 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of California Resources by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,842,223 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $171,786,000 after acquiring an additional 491,751 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in California Resources by 200.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,344,493 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC raised its holdings in California Resources by 63.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 2,000,649 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,370,000 after acquiring an additional 779,280 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California Resources Company Profile

California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) is an energy company focused on developing and producing oil and natural gas resources in California. Its operations include exploration, drilling, production, processing and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, primarily for customers in the California market.

The company’s assets are located in several of California’s major petroleum-producing regions, including the San Joaquin, Los Angeles and Sacramento basins. California Resources also manages related infrastructure and mineral interests associated with its production operations.

In addition to conventional energy production, California Resources has pursued carbon management opportunities through its Carbon TerraVault platform.