California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Price Target Raised to $75.00

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $63.00 to $75.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $56.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price 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. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.90.

California Resources Stock Performance

CRC opened at $64.97 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 1.12. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $65.68.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $789.67 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total transaction of $545,612.44. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $489,547.64. This represents a 52.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in California Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,102,049 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,273,000 after purchasing an additional 32,460 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,313 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,616,761 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $72,285,000 after buying an additional 174,154 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 100,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,499,000 after buying an additional 54,041 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $3,008,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.