Short Interest in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Increases By 12.0%

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,160,000 shares, an increase of 12.0% from the September 15th total of 5,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 749,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. bought a new stake in California Resources during the second quarter worth $258,000. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in California Resources during the first quarter worth $275,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in California Resources during the second quarter worth $320,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in California Resources by 15.4% during the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

California Resources Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CRC traded down $2.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.01. 530,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 868,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.33. California Resources has a 1-year low of $43.09 and a 1-year high of $57.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued 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). California Resources had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. California Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.45 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on California Resources in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America raised California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.29.

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.