California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CRC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of California Resources from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised California Resources from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stephens set a $85.00 price objective on California Resources and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, California Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.27.

California Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CRC opened at $53.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of -38.99 and a beta of 0.93. California Resources has a 12 month low of $43.24 and a 12 month high of $71.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.76.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.36 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.20 million. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 9.82% and a negative net margin of 3.79%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently -119.12%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $642,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 147,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,965,918. This represents a 7.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,380. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in California Resources by 363.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.