California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CRC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price target on California Resources from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on California Resources from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on California Resources from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.90.

California Resources Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of California Resources stock opened at $52.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.95 and a 200-day moving average of $57.93. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 0.92. California Resources has a 52-week low of $43.24 and a 52-week high of $71.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.88. California Resources had a negative net margin of 16.10% and a positive return on equity of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. California Resources’s revenue was down 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that California Resources will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In other news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $642,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 159,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,608,896. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 394.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,017 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 19,955 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Resources by 2,349.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 234,797 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,892,000 after buying an additional 225,210 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,471,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $65,772,000 after buying an additional 499,845 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 107.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 28,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,265,000 after buying an additional 14,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in California Resources by 11.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 253,699 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,492,000 after buying an additional 26,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.