California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded California Resources from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $72.27.
• CRC shares opened at $53.02, below the 200-day moving average of $58.76. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.99 missed expectations of $1.36, although revenue rose 33% year over year to $1.30 billion.
• Executive vice president Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares for approximately $643,000, while institutional investors own a substantial 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CRC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on California Resources from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens set a $85.00 price target on California Resources and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on California Resources from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays set a $74.00 target price on California Resources and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.27.

California Resources Price Performance

CRC opened at $53.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of -38.99 and a beta of 0.93. California Resources has a 1 year low of $43.24 and a 1 year high of $71.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.20 million. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 9.82% and a negative net margin of 3.79%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $642,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 147,517 shares in the company, valued at $7,965,918. This represents a 7.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,721 shares of company stock worth $2,020,380. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saber Capital Managment LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $4,111,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,471,090 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $65,772,000 after buying an additional 499,845 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 585,709 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $40,543,000 after acquiring an additional 212,827 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,775,097 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $392,335,000 after acquiring an additional 529,814 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,853,246 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $82,878,000 after acquiring an additional 141,836 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 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.

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