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

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

California Resources Price Performance

NYSE CRC opened at $45.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.06. California Resources has a 52 week low of $30.97 and a 52 week high of $60.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.31.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $912.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.14 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.3875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. California Resources’s payout ratio is 28.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in California Resources in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of California Resources during the first quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRC. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised California Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on California Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on California Resources from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.