JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on California Resources (NYSE:CRC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $63.00 price target on the oil and gas producer's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 24.60% from the stock's current price.

CRC has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group began coverage on California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of California Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Capital One Financial raised shares of California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Three research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.09.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRC stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.56. 3,532,982 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 837,286. California Resources 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.06.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.13 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. Analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total value of $488,927.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. This represents a 34.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in California Resources in the third quarter worth about $682,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $579,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of California Resources by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 121,900 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,396,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 8.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,202 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,116,000 after buying an additional 75,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in California Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $499,000. 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.