Analysts Set California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) PT at $71.20

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.20.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRC shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of California Resources from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research upgraded California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $1,515,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,416,885.32. This represents a 21.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total value of $1,514,626.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,182,916.77. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in California Resources by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in California Resources by 29.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in California Resources by 82.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in California Resources by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Stock Down 0.4%

CRC stock opened at $61.20 on Friday. California Resources has a 52 week low of $38.96 and a 52 week high of $71.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The firm had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $947.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 87.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that California Resources will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

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.