California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Up 68.9% in March

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 8.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,232,839 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $1,515,010.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 82,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,416,885.32. This trade represents a 21.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $1,514,626.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,182,916.77. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,283 shares of company stock valued at $4,636,646. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in California Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in California Resources by 82.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in California Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in California Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRC shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 target price on California Resources in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup raised their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on California Resources from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.80.

California Resources Stock Up 1.4%

CRC stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.88. 915,539 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 992,113. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $69.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.74.

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

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

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.