Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Price

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $56.00 to $72.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on CRC. Pickering Energy Partners cut shares of California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 target price on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen upgraded California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.70.

California Resources Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $62.18 on Wednesday. California Resources has a 52-week low of $30.97 and a 52-week high of $62.69. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $924.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $789.67 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.California Resources’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 37.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in California Resources by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.