California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CRC shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of California Resources in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 target price on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st.

California Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CRC opened at $49.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.56. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.15. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $58.41.

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

California Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. California Resources’s payout ratio is 37.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in California Resources by 29.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 82.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in California Resources by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in California Resources by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. 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.