Short Interest in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Decreases By 10.4%

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,480,000 shares, a decrease of 10.4% from the May 31st total of 8,350,000 shares. Approximately 12.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 888,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on California Resources from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on California Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC traded up $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.91. The stock had a trading volume of 362,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.98. California Resources has a one year low of $43.30 and a one year high of $58.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.85.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.17. California Resources had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $454.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $490.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 55.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. California Resources’s payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In related news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.10, for a total value of $1,779,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 104,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,047,565.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in California Resources by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 432,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $23,814,000 after buying an additional 53,400 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of California Resources by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 420,946 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $23,127,000 after acquiring an additional 270,508 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of California Resources by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,299,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $180,440,000 after acquiring an additional 190,588 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,824,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in California Resources by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,616 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the period. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.