California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Pickering Energy Partners

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Pickering Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

CRC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on California Resources from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $64.00 price objective on California Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of California Resources in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, California Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.27.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC opened at $46.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.47. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $58.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 1.15.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.58 million. California Resources had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 11.59%. California Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 36.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 13,962 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in California Resources by 27.6% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 52,384 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in California Resources during the second quarter valued at about $1,267,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in California Resources by 103.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 44,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 22,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $624,000. 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.