California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Update

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,980,000 shares, an increase of 28.0% from the February 28th total of 3,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

California Resources Price Performance

NYSE CRC opened at $45.56 on Thursday. California Resources has a 1 year low of $38.02 and a 1 year high of $60.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.05). California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.36 million. On average, research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. California Resources’s payout ratio is 37.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRC. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on California Resources from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on California Resources in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on California Resources in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial upgraded shares of California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James N. Chapman purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $78,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,601.90. The trade was a 4.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in California Resources by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,818,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $353,800,000 after purchasing an additional 845,694 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of California Resources during the third quarter valued at $28,043,000. Palo Duro Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in California Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $20,752,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in California Resources by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,327,712 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $120,785,000 after acquiring an additional 290,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in California Resources by 285.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 318,593 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,532,000 after acquiring an additional 235,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

About California Resources

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.