California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Cut to “Neutral” at Pickering Energy Partners

Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on California Resources from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research cut California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on California Resources from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, California Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.27.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC opened at $45.51 on Friday. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $58.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.34 and a 200-day moving average of $48.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.15.

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

California Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRC. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 82.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in California Resources during the second quarter worth about $35,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in California Resources during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in California Resources by 328.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.