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

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

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRC traded up $0.31 on Wednesday, reaching $52.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 362,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,738. California Resources has a 12-month low of $43.30 and a 12-month high of $58.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.85.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $490.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 55.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that California Resources will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at California Resources

In other news, Director Mark Allen Mcfarland sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 104,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,047,565.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in California Resources by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,100,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $446,326,000 after buying an additional 344,043 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in California Resources by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,299,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $180,440,000 after purchasing an additional 190,588 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in California Resources by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,125,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $170,900,000 after purchasing an additional 182,246 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in California Resources by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,965,476 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $107,472,000 after purchasing an additional 821,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in California Resources by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 925,185 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,820,000 after purchasing an additional 108,123 shares during the period. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.