California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Up 12.0% in September

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) saw a large increase in short interest in 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 presently 8.2 days. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

California Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRC traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $51.48. 76,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 865,872. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.96. California Resources has a 52-week low of $43.09 and a 52-week high of $57.88.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christian S. Kendall bought 20,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.97 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,333.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,062. This trade represents a 500.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other California Resources news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total transaction of $368,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,437.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christian S. Kendall bought 20,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.97 per share, with a total value of $1,002,333.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,062. This represents a 500.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $446,326,000 after purchasing an additional 344,043 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,576,306 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $190,328,000 after purchasing an additional 165,629 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in California Resources by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,631,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,825,000 after purchasing an additional 250,367 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in California Resources by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,078,123 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,378,000 after buying an additional 104,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in California Resources by 2,615.2% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,865,000 after buying an additional 811,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group assumed coverage on California Resources in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on California Resources in a report on Friday, August 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.75.

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.