California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of California Resources from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $64.00 price objective on California Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Pickering Energy Partners lowered California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $49.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.56. California Resources has a 52 week low of $30.97 and a 52 week high of $58.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.58 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 10.60%.The firm’s revenue was down 36.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $684,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in California Resources by 394.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,017 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 19,955 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in California Resources by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in California Resources by 2,349.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 234,797 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,892,000 after acquiring an additional 225,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Company Profile

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.