Paragon Capital Management Ltd Takes $259,000 Position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,715 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 47.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after buying an additional 51,208 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the first quarter valued at $452,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 13.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,898,000 after buying an additional 7,572 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the first quarter valued at $305,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in California Resources by 53.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,587 shares during the period. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Trading Down 1.4 %

CRC traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.20. 3,269,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,755. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.49. California Resources Co. has a one year low of $34.02 and a one year high of $58.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.96.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.33). California Resources had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $535.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 31st. This is a boost from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Resources’s payout ratio is 9.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on California Resources from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on California Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded California Resources from a “d” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on California Resources from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on California Resources from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.40.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities.