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

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

CRC has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays upped their target price on California Resources from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup upgraded California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group set a $78.00 price target on California Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered California Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of California Resources stock opened at $58.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.23 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.90 and its 200-day moving average is $56.27. California Resources has a one year low of $43.24 and a one year high of $71.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.88. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The business had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $947.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. California Resources’s revenue was down 87.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that California Resources will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total value of $1,514,626.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,182,916.77. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.68, for a total transaction of $734,423.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 171,331 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,696.08. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 59,254 shares of company stock valued at $3,764,061 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in California Resources by 363.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in California Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources in the first quarter worth about $29,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.