California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $65.80 and last traded at $65.73, with a volume of 197635 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on California Resources from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.90.

California Resources Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.37. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.89 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). California Resources had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The business had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $789.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. California Resources’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that California Resources Corporation will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total transaction of $545,612.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,547.64. This trade represents a 52.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in California Resources by 6.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in California Resources by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,181,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $186,968,000 after purchasing an additional 632,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of California Resources by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,842,223 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $171,786,000 after buying an additional 491,751 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,006,430 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $159,882,000 after buying an additional 159,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in California Resources by 200.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,344,493 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $104,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.