Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.77 Million Investment in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,766,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of California Resources from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of California Resources from $69.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.43.

California Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

CRC stock opened at $53.69 on Friday. California Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $37.21 and a twelve month high of $58.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.69.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.08). California Resources had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The company had revenue of $726.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $553.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.06%.

California Resources Company Profile

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management 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.