Short Interest in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Drops By 11.5%

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,930,000 shares, a decline of 11.5% from the November 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 683,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in California Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in California Resources by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in California Resources by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE CRC traded down $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 694,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,472. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.08. California Resources has a 1-year low of $43.09 and a 1-year high of $60.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CRC shares. Barclays lifted their target price on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Capital One Financial upgraded California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on California Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.40.

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.