Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,891 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 55,008 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.23% of California Resources worth $10,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRC. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in California Resources by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,818,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $353,800,000 after acquiring an additional 845,694 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in California Resources by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,327,712 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $120,785,000 after purchasing an additional 290,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in California Resources by 158.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 374,793 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $19,448,000 after purchasing an additional 229,940 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,345,789 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $484,953,000 after purchasing an additional 225,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,014,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company's stock.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of CRC traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.07. 441,794 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,611. California Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $30.97 and a 12 month high of $60.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.93.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $912.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.14 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts expect that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. California Resources's payout ratio is 28.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRC shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on California Resources from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on California Resources from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on California Resources from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James N. Chapman acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.42 per share, with a total value of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,712,601.90. This represents a 4.83% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About California Resources

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.