California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded California Resources (NYSE:CRC) from a "hold" to a "sell" on Saturday, though several major firms (Barclays, UBS, Wells Fargo) recently raised price targets and the stock's consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $66.90.
• In the latest quarter CRC missed EPS at $0.47 versus $0.49 expected but beat revenue at $924 million (consensus $789.7M), with revenue up 5.4% year-over-year; the shares trade near a one-year high (~$65) with a market cap of $5.76 billion and a P/E of 15.92.
• VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares (a 52.7% reduction in her stake) while insiders now hold just 0.03% of the stock, and institutional investors collectively own 97.79% after large position increases by firms like Victory Capital and Channing Capital.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

CRC has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on California Resources from $56.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised California Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of California Resources in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.90.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC opened at $64.97 on Friday. California Resources has a one year low of $30.97 and a one year high of $65.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.The company had revenue of $924.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $789.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. California Resources's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total transaction of $545,612.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,547.64. This trade represents a 52.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in California Resources by 200.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,344,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $104,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,866 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in California Resources by 1,263.4% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $71,121,000 after buying an additional 1,474,037 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its holdings in California Resources by 63.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 2,000,649 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $91,370,000 after buying an additional 779,280 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of California Resources by 155.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,062,553 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,527,000 after buying an additional 647,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of California Resources by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,181,806 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $186,968,000 after buying an additional 632,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.