California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.36.

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRC shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on California Resources from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on California Resources from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on California Resources from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

California Resources Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CRC traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.07. The company had a trading volume of 441,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,598. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $60.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $38.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.06.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.24. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $912.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $862.14 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. California Resources's quarterly revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. California Resources's payout ratio is 28.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James N. Chapman acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.42 per share, with a total value of $78,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,712,601.90. The trade was a 4.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $841,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 739,057 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $38,350,000 after buying an additional 14,240 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,289 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,929 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,539,000 after buying an additional 22,383 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 518.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the period. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.