California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on CRC. Mizuho lifted their price target on California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.80.

California Resources Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $68.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.87. California Resources has a 12-month low of $30.97 and a 12-month high of $69.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $789.67 million. California Resources had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other California Resources news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 16,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total transaction of $1,061,396.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 76,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,944,259.95. The trade was a 17.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $1,514,626.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,182,916.77. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in California Resources by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of California Resources by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is owned by 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.