California Resources Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CRC)

California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 2,204 call options on the company. This is an increase of 281% compared to the average volume of 579 call options.

Insider Activity

In other California Resources news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,437.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total transaction of $368,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 166,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,437.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 20,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $47.97 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,333.15. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 24,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,062. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of California Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Resources by 3.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,109 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 32,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Resources by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of California Resources by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 56,452 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC increased its stake in California Resources by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America upgraded California Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of California Resources from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRC opened at $48.78 on Friday. California Resources has a one year low of $43.09 and a one year high of $58.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.43.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.36). California Resources had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that California Resources will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.3875 per share. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from California Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 44.41%.

About California Resources

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.