California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.8182.

CRC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on California Resources in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered California Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on California Resources from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $71.00 price objective on California Resources in a report on Monday, September 15th.

California Resources Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $47.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.15. California Resources has a 12 month low of $30.97 and a 12 month high of $58.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.30.

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

California Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in California Resources by 82.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in California Resources by 21.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of California Resources by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,301 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,364 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.