Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,345,789 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 225,620 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.23% of California Resources worth $484,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in California Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in California Resources by 331.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Trading Down 14.3 %

NYSE CRC traded down $5.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.80. 1,547,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 840,314. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 5.48, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. California Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $34.43 and a 1-year high of $60.41. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.87.

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

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. California Resources's payout ratio is currently 37.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on California Resources in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price target on California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial raised shares of California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James N. Chapman purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,712,601.90. This trade represents a 4.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% 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.