Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,288 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in California Resources were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.25.

California Resources Stock Down 0.6 %

CRC stock opened at $53.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.52. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. California Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $43.09 and a 12 month high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Resources news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $883,762.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. The trade was a 34.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.