California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) is Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s 3rd Largest Position

Kestrel Investment Management Corp cut its position in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 27,000 shares during the period. California Resources accounts for about 5.2% of Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Kestrel Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.20% of California Resources worth $7,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 51,208 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $452,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 7,572 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $305,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,587 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRC. Bank of America lowered California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays began coverage on California Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on California Resources from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on California Resources from $69.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.43.

California Resources Stock Performance

CRC traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 340,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,072. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. California Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $37.21 and a twelve month high of $58.44.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.08). California Resources had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The business had revenue of $726.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $553.47 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that California Resources Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 16.06%.

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.