Franklin Resources Inc. Has $468,000 Stock Position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,814 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 18,241 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in California Resources were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,603.25. The trade was a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $883,762.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. This trade represents a 34.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

California Resources Trading Up 2.7 %

California Resources stock traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.89. 1,003,875 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,444. California Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.09 and a fifty-two week high of $60.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $54.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.37.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $973.13 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. California Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Resources Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CRC. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.09.

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.