California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CRC. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America upgraded California Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.50.

California Resources Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRC traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.90. The stock had a trading volume of 757,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $51.95 and its 200 day moving average is $50.76. California Resources has a 52 week low of $43.09 and a 52 week high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. California Resources had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 11.27%. California Resources's quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Resources news, 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 transaction of $368,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,437.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other California Resources news, Director Christian S. Kendall acquired 20,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $47.97 per share, with a total value of $1,002,333.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 24,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,180,062. This represents a 500.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total transaction of $368,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,387,778. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 2,615.2% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,865,000 after buying an additional 811,963 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources during the second quarter valued at about $28,566,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in California Resources by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $446,326,000 after purchasing an additional 344,043 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,631,432 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $86,825,000 after purchasing an additional 250,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,820,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

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.

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