California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $74.10

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a moderately bullish view: Fourteen firms give California Resources a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $74.10 versus shares opening at $51.14.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of CRC, while insiders have sold 35,721 shares worth approximately $1.93 million over the past 90 days.
• Financial results were mixed: Quarterly revenue rose 33% year over year to $1.30 billion, but adjusted earnings of $0.99 per share missed consensus estimates of $1.36. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% annualized yield.

Shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.10.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price objective (up from $58.00) on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on California Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded California Resources from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded California Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Resources news, EVP Jay Bys sold 11,907 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $642,978.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 135,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,322,940. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 35,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,928,934 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of California Resources by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,853,246 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $82,878,000 after acquiring an additional 141,836 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in California Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,205,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in California Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $62,698,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in California Resources by 57.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 585,709 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $40,543,000 after purchasing an additional 212,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in California Resources by 12.8% in the first 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. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $51.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.60 and a beta of 0.90. California Resources has a 12 month low of $43.24 and a 12 month high of $71.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.20 million. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 9.82% and a negative net margin of 3.79%.California Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 33.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.4050 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently -119.12%.

California Resources Company Profile

California Resources Corporation NYSE: CRC is an energy company focused on developing and producing oil and natural gas resources in California. Its operations include exploration, drilling, production, processing and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, primarily for customers in the California market.

The company's assets are located in several of California's major petroleum-producing regions, including the San Joaquin, Los Angeles and Sacramento basins. California Resources also manages related infrastructure and mineral interests associated with its production operations.

In addition to conventional energy production, California Resources has pursued carbon management opportunities through its Carbon TerraVault platform.

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