Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,053 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,867 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in California Resources were worth $512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in California Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of California Resources by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in California Resources by 518.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Citigroup downgraded California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $36.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on California Resources in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.83.

California Resources Stock Up 3.0 %

California Resources stock opened at $35.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. California Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $30.97 and a twelve month high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.36 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. As a group, analysts expect that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 37.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James N. Chapman purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,601.90. This represents a 4.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities.