California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Coverage Initiated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $64.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CRC. Barclays increased their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stephens began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.50.

California Resources Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CRC opened at $53.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.90. California Resources has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $57.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.07 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 7.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of California Resources by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $446,326,000 after purchasing an additional 344,043 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 165,629 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 18.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,631,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,825,000 after buying an additional 250,367 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 104,504 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 2,615.2% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,865,000 after acquiring an additional 811,963 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.