California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $54.10, but opened at $52.56. California Resources shares last traded at $53.97, with a volume of 5,792 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on California Resources in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.25.

California Resources Trading Down 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.92 and a 200 day moving average of $52.49. 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 (NYSE:CRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that California Resources Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total value of $488,927.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 30,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,269.20. This trade represents a 34.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in California Resources by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in California Resources by 9.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in California Resources by 29.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in California Resources by 3.1% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,406 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in California Resources by 10.9% in the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.