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

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,220,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the November 30th total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 688,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of CRC stock opened at $51.89 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.37. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. California Resources has a twelve month low of $43.09 and a twelve month high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Capital One Financial raised shares of California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.09.

Insider Activity at California Resources

In related news, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $883,762.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. This represents a 34.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 61.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised 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 buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in California Resources by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,406 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in California Resources by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.