California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.0909.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRC shares. Wall Street Zen cut California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on California Resources from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens set a $85.00 price target on California Resources and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th.

California Resources Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $53.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.66. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47. California Resources has a one year low of $43.24 and a one year high of $71.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.36 by ($0.37). California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently -31.15%.

California Resources News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting California Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CRC agreed to acquire Crimson Midstream Holdings’ California pipeline platform for approximately $63 million in cash. The deal is intended to expand the company’s integrated California energy infrastructure and could improve control over transportation and midstream operations. CRC to acquire Crimson Midstream’s California pipeline platform
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 33% year over year to $1.297 billion, substantially exceeding analyst expectations of roughly $960 million. CRC reported $514 million of net income, or $5.76 per diluted share, although the result benefited from a non-cash gain tied to commodity-derivative valuations. California Resources Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial and Operating Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, payable September 18 to shareholders of record September 4. The dividend represents an annualized yield of approximately 3%, supporting the stock’s income appeal.
• Positive Sentiment: CRC reaffirmed full-year 2026 capital guidance of $520 million to $560 million and reduced expected drilling, completions and workover spending to $370 million to $390 million. Average second-quarter production was 149 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, with oil accounting for 81%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operating cash flow was $263 million and liquidity totaled $1.322 billion at quarter-end, providing capacity for investment and shareholder returns. However, the Crimson acquisition and capital program will require continued spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted quarterly EPS of $0.99 missed consensus estimates of $1.31 to $1.36 and declined from $1.10 a year earlier. The earnings shortfall likely limited the market’s reaction to the stronger revenue and reported net income. California Resources Corporation Q2 Earnings Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity showed multiple sales and no purchases during the past six months, including a 3.5 million-share sale by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Such transactions may weigh on investor sentiment, though they do not necessarily reflect the company’s operating outlook.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $642,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 159,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,608,896. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in California Resources by 363.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.