California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Short Interest Down 33.1% in March

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a decrease of 33.1% from the March 15th total of 4,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

California Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

CRC stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.88. 632,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 855,289. California Resources has a 1-year low of $30.97 and a 1-year high of $60.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 5.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $877.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.36 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. California Resources's payout ratio is currently 37.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James N. Chapman acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $78,840.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,601.90. This represents a 4.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,924 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in California Resources by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in California Resources by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,199 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in California Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,217 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in California Resources by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,335 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CRC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut shares of California Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $62.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.17.

California Resources Company Profile

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.