California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Key Points

• California Resources reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates by $0.05, while citing revenue of $119.00 million versus a consensus of $947.50 million and posting a 10.23% ROE and 9.89% net margin.
• The stock rose about 1.5% to $70.21 on the report, and the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.405 (annualized $1.62) for a ~2.3% yield.
• Multiple analysts raised price targets (e.g., UBS to $82, Citi to $74), leaving a consensus "Buy" rating with a $71.20 target, even as insiders sold roughly 72,283 shares (~$4.64M) and institutional ownership remains high at 97.79%.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.The company had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.50 million.

California Resources Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE CRC traded up $1.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.21. 822,244 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,022. California Resources has a 12-month low of $35.04 and a 12-month high of $71.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $64.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.97.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CRC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In other news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 16,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total transaction of $1,061,396.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 76,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,944,259.95. This trade represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,514,626.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,182,916.77. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,102,049 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,273,000 after purchasing an additional 32,460 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in California Resources by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,313 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in California Resources by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,616,761 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $72,285,000 after purchasing an additional 174,154 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in California Resources by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 100,631 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,499,000 after purchasing an additional 54,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in California Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $3,008,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by 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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