California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on CRC. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stephens began coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised California Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded California Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock.

California Resources Stock Performance

CRC stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $59.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 539,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 651,025. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. California Resources has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $973.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $530,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $916,953. This trade represents a 36.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This represents a 4.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,387,778 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of California Resources by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in California Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Company Profile

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.