California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.39

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.3875 per share by the oil and gas producer on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th.

California Resources has raised its dividend by an average of 101.7% annually over the last three years. California Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 36.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect California Resources to earn $4.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.55 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.0%.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRC stock traded up $0.50 on Thursday, hitting $40.77. 204,933 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 805,650. The company's fifty day moving average is $49.55 and its 200 day moving average is $52.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. California Resources has a 1-year low of $38.02 and a 1-year high of $60.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.36 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on California Resources in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.08.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $883,762.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,707,269.20. This trade represents a 34.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities.