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

Shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRC shares. Zacks Research cut California Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup raised California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings cut California Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $78.00 target price on California Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $59.81 on Thursday. California Resources has a 12 month low of $42.20 and a 12 month high of $71.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.50 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.88. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The firm had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $947.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -31.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In related news, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $1,515,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,416,885.32. This trade represents a 21.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,182,916.77. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock valued at $4,636,646. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings 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 bought a new stake in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 bought a new stake in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in California Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California Resources News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting California Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: California Resources announced the first CO2 injection at Carbon TerraVault I, marking California’s first operational carbon capture and storage project and a major step forward in its long-term carbon management strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on CRC to $87 from $86 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence in the company’s upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays also increased its price target to $80 from $72 and maintained an overweight rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment around the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple media outlets highlighted CRC’s first CO2 injection and described the project as a significant climate and storage milestone, reinforcing the company’s strategic positioning in carbon capture.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded CRC from strong-buy to hold, which may temper some enthusiasm but does not appear to reflect a change in the company’s operating progress.

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.