Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 812 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 331.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,057 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in California Resources were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in California Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in California Resources by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in California Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in California Resources by 518.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Resources 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James N. Chapman purchased 2,000 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.42 per share, with a total value of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,601.90. The trade was a 4.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of California Resources stock opened at $41.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.85. California Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $38.02 and a 52 week high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $877.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.36 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. Sell-side analysts expect that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. California Resources’s payout ratio is currently 37.71%.

California Resources 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.