Short Interest in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Grows By 35.5%

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,810,000 shares, an increase of 35.5% from the April 30th total of 3,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 6.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

California Resources Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CRC traded up $0.68 on Friday, hitting $44.67. 691,074 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 873,880. California Resources has a 1 year low of $30.97 and a 1 year high of $60.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $38.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.24. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $912.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. California Resources's revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. California Resources's payout ratio is currently 28.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRC. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of California Resources by 269.4% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 639 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in California Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in California Resources by 68.8% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 775 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in California Resources by 331.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in California Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $79,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on California Resources from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Truist Financial raised shares of California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of California Resources from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.27.

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.