California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Up 9.9% in December

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,220,000 shares, a growth of 9.9% from the November 30th total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 688,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on California Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens started coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $883,762.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,269.20. This represents a 34.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total value of $488,927.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,603.25. This trade represents a 50.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in California Resources in the third quarter valued at $70,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of California Resources by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of California Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California Resources Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE CRC opened at $51.89 on Thursday. California Resources has a 52 week low of $43.09 and a 52 week high of $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that California Resources will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. California Resources’s payout ratio is presently 24.41%.

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.