Short Interest in California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Increases By 68.9%

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,243,668 shares, a growth of 68.9% from the February 26th total of 4,289,277 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,232,839 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

California Resources Trading Up 1.4%

CRC traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.88. 915,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 992,113. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.74. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $69.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.12.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $789.67 million. California Resources had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRC. Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of California Resources from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of California Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In related news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 16,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total value of $1,061,396.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 76,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,944,259.95. This trade represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $1,515,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,416,885.32. This trade represents a 21.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,283 shares of company stock valued at $4,636,646. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of California Resources by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in California Resources by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in California Resources by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in California Resources by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in California Resources by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Company Profile

California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) is an independent exploration and production company focused exclusively on developing oil and natural gas assets in California. Headquartered in Newport Beach, the company engages in hydraulic fracturing, well completions, reservoir management and enhanced recovery operations to produce crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CRC’s operations are concentrated in three core regions: the Los Angeles Basin, the Ventura Basin and the San Joaquin Basin.