Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 25,322 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) by 31.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,640 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 25,322 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in California Resources were worth $2,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in California Resources by 3.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,109 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,495 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,342,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in California Resources by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 287,468 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,839,000 after purchasing an additional 6,312 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in California Resources by 7.4% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 32,209 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management bought a new position in California Resources in the first quarter worth about $540,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This represents a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $530,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,301 shares in the company, valued at $916,953. The trade was a 36.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,387,778. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Resources Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CRC opened at $58.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.15. California Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $60.41.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. California Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CRC. StockNews.com raised shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Stephens started coverage on California Resources in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, California Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.40.

California Resources 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.