KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 12,900 California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in California Resources by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,592,663 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $83,583,000 after acquiring an additional 55,815 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of California Resources by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,449,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $181,021,000 after purchasing an additional 168,278 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $841,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 739,057 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,350,000 after purchasing an additional 14,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in California Resources by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:CRC opened at $45.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.11.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.05). California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $877.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.36 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. California Resources’s payout ratio is currently 37.71%.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.