California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Down 11.5% in November

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,930,000 shares, a decrease of 11.5% from the November 15th total of 3,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 683,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Stephens began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.40.

California Resources Price Performance

NYSE CRC traded down $0.52 on Tuesday, hitting $53.29. 694,318 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 826,472. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.11 and a 200-day moving average of $52.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. California Resources has a 52 week low of $43.09 and a 52 week high of $60.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. Analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,603.25. The trade was a 50.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $883,762.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,269.20. This represents a 34.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRC. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in California Resources by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 510,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,163,000 after purchasing an additional 78,200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in California Resources by 1.3% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 32,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in California Resources by 15.4% in the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in California Resources by 20.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in California Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $729,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.