California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $30.97 and last traded at $36.49, with a volume of 1352678 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of California Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $36.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial started coverage on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on California Resources in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, California Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.83.

California Resources Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.87.

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

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. California Resources's payout ratio is 37.71%.

Insider Activity

In other California Resources news, Director James N. Chapman acquired 2,000 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.42 per share, with a total value of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,601.90. This trade represents a 4.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in California Resources by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,592,663 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $83,583,000 after purchasing an additional 55,815 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in California Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $841,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in California Resources by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 739,057 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $38,350,000 after acquiring an additional 14,240 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,289 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,929 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 22,383 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.