California Resources (NYSE:CRC) Shares Down 9.9% – Should You Sell?

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC)’s share price dropped 9.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $62.76 and last traded at $63.1740. Approximately 394,127 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 928,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRC. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on California Resources from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, California Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.20.

California Resources Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The firm had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $947.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 87.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that California Resources Corporation will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -31.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total transaction of $545,612.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,547.64. This represents a 52.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 16,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.83, for a total value of $1,061,396.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 76,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,944,259.95. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,283 shares of company stock valued at $4,636,646. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in California Resources by 363.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Resources by 82.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in California Resources in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) is an independent exploration and production company focused exclusively on developing oil and natural gas assets in California. Headquartered in Newport Beach, the company engages in hydraulic fracturing, well completions, reservoir management and enhanced recovery operations to produce crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CRC’s operations are concentrated in three core regions: the Los Angeles Basin, the Ventura Basin and the San Joaquin Basin.