California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Trading 7.4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• California Resources Corporation's stock price surged 7.4% following an upgrade from Mizuho, which raised its price target from $64.00 to $65.00 while maintaining an outperform rating.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings on California Resources, with JPMorgan and UBS both rating the stock as overweight or buy, indicating strong positive sentiment among investment firms.
• The company reported impressive quarterly earnings, with $1.10 EPS, outperforming estimates of $0.91 and showcasing a revenue increase of 90.3% year-over-year.

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) traded up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $56.43 and last traded at $56.95. 1,222,046 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 947,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.01.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on CRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised California Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on California Resources from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on California Resources from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on California Resources from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $63.00 price objective on California Resources in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 52,366.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,269 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 1,679.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 190,443 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,882,000 after purchasing an additional 179,743 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 429,526 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $22,288,000 after purchasing an additional 154,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $613,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

California Resources Trading Down 4.5%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 1.16.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 16.14%.The company had revenue of $978.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $820.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. California Resources's quarterly revenue was up 90.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that California Resources Corporation will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 27th. California Resources's payout ratio is 21.17%.

California Resources Company Profile

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.