California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,810,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the September 30th total of 6,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 758,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.7 days. Approximately 7.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Resources news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $530,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $916,953. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total transaction of $368,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $530,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,301 shares in the company, valued at $916,953. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in California Resources by 61.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. acquired a new stake in California Resources in the second quarter valued at about $258,000. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in California Resources in the first quarter valued at about $275,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in California Resources by 44.1% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,026 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of CRC stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $52.26. The company had a trading volume of 154,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 852,296. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. California Resources has a one year low of $43.09 and a one year high of $57.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.75.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.07 million. California Resources had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business’s revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 44.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CRC shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group started coverage on California Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

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.