California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on California Resources from $64.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Mizuho dropped their target price on California Resources from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on California Resources from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, California Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.36.

California Resources Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CRC opened at $43.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.25. 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 has a 52-week low of $30.97 and a 52-week high of $60.41. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.24. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $912.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in California Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $841,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in California Resources by 2.0% in 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 period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in California Resources by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in California Resources by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,929 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 22,383 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in California Resources by 518.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the period. 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.