California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• California Resources has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on 14 covering firms: 10 buys, 1 strong buy, and 3 holds. The consensus 12-month price target is $73.50.
• Recent analyst action has been mostly positive, including Citigroup upgrading the stock to buy and Mizuho and Wells Fargo raising their price targets. However, Zacks Research cut its view from strong-buy to hold.
• The company also reported a major operational milestone with the first CO2 injection at Carbon TerraVault I, California’s first operational carbon capture and storage project. In addition, CRC declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, payable June 18, for a 2.7% annualized yield.

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRC shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of California Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of California Resources from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of California Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In other California Resources news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 16,372 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total value of $1,061,396.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 76,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,944,259.95. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $1,514,626.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,182,916.77. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in California Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in 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. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in California Resources by 363.6% in the 4th 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 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in California Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

More California Resources News

Here are the key news stories impacting California Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: California Resources announced the first CO2 injection at Carbon TerraVault I, marking California’s first operational carbon capture and storage project and a major step forward in its long-term carbon management strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on CRC to $87 from $86 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence in the company’s upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays also increased its price target to $80 from $72 and maintained an overweight rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment around the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple media outlets highlighted CRC’s first CO2 injection and described the project as a significant climate and storage milestone, reinforcing the company’s strategic positioning in carbon capture.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded CRC from strong-buy to hold, which may temper some enthusiasm but does not appear to reflect a change in the company’s operating progress.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of California Resources stock opened at $59.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of -11.50 and a beta of 0.96. California Resources has a 1 year low of $42.20 and a 1 year high of $71.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $64.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio is -31.15%.

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.

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