Stephens Begins Coverage on California Resources (NYSE:CRC)

Stephens started coverage on shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $73.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

CRC has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on California Resources in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

California Resources Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CRC opened at $52.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.88. California Resources has a one year low of $43.09 and a one year high of $57.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.43.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.07 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 7.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.41%.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, Director Christian S. Kendall acquired 20,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.97 per share, with a total value of $1,002,333.15. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,180,062. This trade represents a 500.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,437.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 20,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.97 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,333.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,180,062. This represents a 500.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in California Resources by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Privium Fund Management B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources during the second quarter worth about $258,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of California Resources by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,026 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the last quarter. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in California Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $275,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in California Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $320,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.