Palo Duro Investment Partners LP Takes $20.75 Million Position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Palo Duro Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 399,929 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $20,752,000. California Resources makes up 6.1% of Palo Duro Investment Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Palo Duro Investment Partners LP owned about 0.44% of California Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 331.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 52,366.7% during the fourth 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 518.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In other news, Director James N. Chapman purchased 2,000 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $78,840.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,601.90. This represents a 4.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

California Resources Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:CRC traded down $0.55 on Friday, hitting $42.61. 508,872 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 865,949. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. California Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $30.97 and a 1 year high of $60.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.41. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.24. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $912.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $862.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRC. UBS Group lifted their target price on California Resources from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on California Resources from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.64.

California Resources 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.