California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $50.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. California Resources traded as low as $34.09 and last traded at $34.51, with a volume of 764753 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.22.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CRC. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup downgraded California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.27.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, Director James N. Chapman bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,601.90. The trade was a 4.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in California Resources by 68.8% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in California Resources by 331.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in California Resources by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Resources Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 5.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.05). California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.36 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. California Resources’s payout ratio is currently 37.71%.

About California Resources

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.