JPMorgan Chase & Co. Begins Coverage on California Resources (NYSE:CRC)

Stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of California Resources (NYSE:CRC) in a note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 23.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CRC. Citigroup increased their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Stephens initiated coverage on California Resources in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Capital One Financial upgraded California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.09.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRC opened at $50.98 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. California Resources has a 12-month low of $43.09 and a 12-month high of $60.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. California Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $883,762.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. This trade represents a 34.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,531 shares in the company, valued at $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in California Resources by 2,615.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,865,000 after buying an additional 811,963 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,566,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,043,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in California Resources by 18.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,631,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,825,000 after purchasing an additional 250,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in California Resources in the second quarter worth $11,820,000. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.