California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.80.

California Resources Stock Performance

CRC opened at $68.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.88. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.12. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $69.31.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $924.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $789.67 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.California Resources’s revenue for the quarter 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.

Insider Activity

In other California Resources news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total value of $545,612.44. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,684 shares in the company, valued at $489,547.64. The trade was a 52.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $1,515,010.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares in the company, valued at $5,416,885.32. This represents a 21.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in California Resources by 363.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in California Resources by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in California Resources in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in California Resources in the third quarter worth $29,000. 97.79% of the stock is 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.