California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,341,581 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the December 31st total of 3,460,591 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 872,921 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 872,921 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

California Resources Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE CRC traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 798,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,219. California Resources has a 12-month low of $30.97 and a 12-month high of $58.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.79.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. California Resources had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 10.60%.The company had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. California Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 36.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that California Resources will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Resources by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,775,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $392,335,000 after acquiring an additional 529,814 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 15.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,549,636 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $188,776,000 after purchasing an additional 474,521 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in 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. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its holdings in California Resources by 63.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 2,000,649 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,370,000 after purchasing an additional 779,280 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in California Resources by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,471,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $65,772,000 after purchasing an additional 499,845 shares during the period. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRC. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of California Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on California Resources from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $63.00 price objective on California Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $65.00 price target on California Resources and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.90.

View Our Latest Research Report on CRC

California Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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