Brokerages Set California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) PT at $66.90

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.40.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC opened at $63.08 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.80 and its 200-day moving average is $50.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.11. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $66.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued 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). California Resources had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $789.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that California Resources 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Resources news, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $1,515,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,416,885.32. This trade represents a 21.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president owned 7,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,547.64. The trade was a 52.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Resources during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.