California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CRC. TD Cowen assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Friday, August 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.75.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $51.89 on Wednesday. California Resources has a twelve month low of $43.09 and a twelve month high of $57.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.15 and its 200-day moving average is $50.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.07 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 7.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total transaction of $368,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,437.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christian S. Kendall bought 20,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $47.97 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,333.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,062. This represents a 500.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,437.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $446,326,000 after purchasing an additional 344,043 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in California Resources by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,576,306 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $190,328,000 after acquiring an additional 165,629 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 18.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,631,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,825,000 after acquiring an additional 250,367 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 10.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,078,123 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,378,000 after acquiring an additional 104,504 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of California Resources by 2,615.2% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,865,000 after purchasing an additional 811,963 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.