Analysts Set California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Price Target at $73.09

Shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.2727.

CRC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised California Resources from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of California Resources from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In related 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,380. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in California Resources by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,471,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $65,772,000 after purchasing an additional 499,845 shares during the period. Saber Capital Managment LLC purchased a new position in California Resources during the 4th quarter worth $4,111,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in California Resources by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,775,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,335,000 after purchasing an additional 529,814 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 57.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 585,709 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $40,543,000 after buying an additional 212,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,853,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $82,878,000 after buying an additional 141,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CRC opened at $53.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of -39.32 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.56. California Resources has a 12 month low of $43.24 and a 12 month high of $71.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.37). California Resources had a positive return on equity of 9.82% and a negative net margin of 3.79%.The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. California Resources’s payout ratio is -119.12%.

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.