California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) CEO Francisco Leon Sells 7,500 Shares of Stock

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,437.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

California Resources Price Performance

California Resources stock opened at $48.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.32. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $58.44.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.07 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that California Resources Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in California Resources by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $446,326,000 after buying an additional 344,043 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,576,306 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $190,328,000 after acquiring an additional 165,629 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,631,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,825,000 after acquiring an additional 250,367 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Resources by 10.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,078,123 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,378,000 after purchasing an additional 104,504 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in California Resources by 2,615.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,865,000 after purchasing an additional 811,963 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen started coverage on California Resources in a report on Friday, August 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

California Resources Company 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.