California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded California Resources from buy to hold, even as several other analysts recently issued or maintained bullish ratings and higher price targets.
• CRC shares fell 4.3% to $58.41, leaving the stock below the consensus price target of $73.50 and within its recent trading range.
• The company’s latest earnings showed EPS of $0.88, matching estimates, but revenue plunged 87% year over year to $119 million; meanwhile, insiders sold shares and institutions remained heavily invested.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on CRC. UBS Group set a $78.00 price target on California Resources and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup raised California Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays raised their price target on California Resources from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.50.

California Resources Stock Down 4.3%

CRC stock opened at $58.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of -11.23 and a beta of 0.90. California Resources has a one year low of $43.24 and a one year high of $71.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.90 and its 200 day moving average is $56.27. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.88. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The business had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $1,515,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,416,885.32. The trade was a 21.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,514,626.87. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 59,254 shares of company stock worth $3,764,061 over the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 585,709 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,543,000 after acquiring an additional 212,827 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 480,413 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,254,000 after purchasing an additional 54,703 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in California Resources by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,343 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,284,000 after purchasing an additional 15,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in California Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $1,663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company's stock.

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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