California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Update

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,243,668 shares, a growth of 68.9% from the February 26th total of 4,289,277 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,232,839 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days. Approximately 8.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

California Resources Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:CRC traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.88. 915,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,334,814. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.19 and a 200 day moving average of $51.88. California Resources has a 12 month low of $30.97 and a 12 month high of $69.31.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $789.67 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 9.89%.California Resources’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. California Resources’s payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRC shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen cut California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup boosted their target price on California Resources from $51.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 target price on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total value of $545,612.44. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,547.64. This trade represents a 52.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $1,515,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,236 shares in the company, valued at $5,416,885.32. The trade was a 21.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRC. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in California Resources by 228.6% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,678 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 12,299 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of California Resources by 363.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of California Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,102,049 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,273,000 after purchasing an additional 32,460 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,313 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

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.