California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Upgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to “Moderate Buy” Rating

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) to a moderate buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CRC. UBS Group set a $64.00 price target on shares of California Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on California Resources from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of California Resources in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.27.

California Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CRC opened at $46.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.51. California Resources has a 12-month low of $30.97 and a 12-month high of $58.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.58 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 10.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 36.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. California Resources’s payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Creative Planning lifted its position in California Resources by 58.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after buying an additional 13,962 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 52,384 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,267,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 44,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 22,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $362,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) is an independent exploration and production company focused exclusively on developing oil and natural gas assets in California. Headquartered in Newport Beach, the company engages in hydraulic fracturing, well completions, reservoir management and enhanced recovery operations to produce crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CRC’s operations are concentrated in three core regions: the Los Angeles Basin, the Ventura Basin and the San Joaquin Basin.