Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 225,620 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,345,789 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 225,620 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.23% of California Resources worth $484,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in California Resources by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in California Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Stock Up 2.9 %

CRC opened at $45.24 on Wednesday. California Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $38.02 and a fifty-two week high of $60.41. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.11.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $877.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.36 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. On average, analysts anticipate that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRC shares. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial started coverage on California Resources in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on California Resources in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James N. Chapman purchased 2,000 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,601.90. This represents a 4.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.