UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group cut California Resources’ price target from $70 to $67 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying roughly 23% upside from the stock’s $54.45 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: CRC has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $72.55, despite recent downgrades from Zacks Research, Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings.
• California Resources reported quarterly EPS of $0.99, below the $1.36 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 33% year over year to $1.30 billion. Institutional investors own approximately 97.79% of the company’s shares.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at UBS Group from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.06% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of California Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stephens set a $85.00 target price on California Resources and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut California Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded California Resources from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.55.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC opened at $54.45 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. California Resources has a 12 month low of $43.24 and a 12 month high of $71.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). California Resources had a positive return on equity of 9.87% and a negative net margin of 3.79%.The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that California Resources will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In other news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $642,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 159,424 shares in the company, valued at $8,608,896. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,775,097 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $392,335,000 after purchasing an additional 529,814 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in California Resources by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,181,806 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $186,968,000 after buying an additional 632,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of California Resources by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,842,223 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $171,786,000 after acquiring an additional 491,751 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of California Resources by 200.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,344,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $104,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC increased its position in shares of California Resources by 63.8% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 2,000,649 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $91,370,000 after purchasing an additional 779,280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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