California Resources Corporation $CRC Position Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in California Resources by 6.4% to 8,775,097 shares, owning 10.48% of the company valued at about $392.3 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — EVP Christopher D. Gould and COO Omar Hayat sold 24,347 and 23,000 shares respectively, with insiders offloading 72,283 shares (~$4.64M) in the last three months (insiders now own 0.53%).
• California Resources declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share (annualized $1.62, ~2.6% yield); the company reported $0.88 EPS (in line) but revenue plunged to $119M (down ~87% YoY), and the stock was trading about 12% lower.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,775,097 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 529,814 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.48% of California Resources worth $392,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 5.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,006,430 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $159,882,000 after purchasing an additional 159,708 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 23.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 468,669 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $24,924,000 after purchasing an additional 90,466 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $6,205,000. Clayton Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 35.2% in the third quarter. Clayton Partners LLC now owns 136,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 35,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of California Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $2,200,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Resources news, EVP Christopher D. Gould sold 24,347 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,537 shares in the company, valued at $8,182,916.77. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Omar Hayat sold 23,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 82,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,416,885.32. This trade represents a 21.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,283 shares of company stock worth $4,636,646. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

California Resources Trading Down 12.1%

Shares of CRC stock opened at $61.64 on Thursday. California Resources Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.93 and a 12 month high of $71.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.23. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of -11.85 and a beta of 0.96.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.88. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 9.69% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The company had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that California Resources Corporation will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CRC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of California Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of California Resources from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of California Resources from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.20.

California Resources Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.