Wall Street Zen Upgrades California Resources (NYSE:CRC) to “Hold”

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of California Resources from $51.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.80.

California Resources Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of CRC stock opened at $63.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.11. California Resources has a 52-week low of $30.97 and a 52-week high of $66.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.23 and its 200-day moving average is $51.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In related news, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $1,514,626.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,537 shares in the company, valued at $8,182,916.77. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 16,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total value of $1,061,396.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 76,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,944,259.95. This trade represents a 17.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position 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 worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of California Resources by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in California Resources by 82.5% in 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. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Company Profile

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.