Aristides Capital LLC Sells 71,738 Shares of California Resources Corporation $CRC

Aristides Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) by 43.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 71,738 shares during the quarter. California Resources makes up about 1.1% of Aristides Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in California Resources were worth $6,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in California Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $62,698,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of California Resources by 45.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,798 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,923,000 after buying an additional 48,997 shares during the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Resources during the first quarter worth $1,730,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of California Resources by 15.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 238,476 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,507,000 after buying an additional 31,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Resources by 8.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,053 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRC. Stephens set a $85.00 price objective on California Resources and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded California Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on California Resources from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded California Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.09.

California Resources Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CRC opened at $54.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of -10.44 and a beta of 0.92. California Resources Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.24 and a 12 month high of $71.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. The company had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.50 million. California Resources had a positive return on equity of 10.12% and a negative net margin of 16.10%.The firm’s revenue was down 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that California Resources Corporation will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. California Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -31.15%.

Insider Transactions at California Resources

In other news, EVP Jay A. Bys sold 11,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $642,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 159,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,608,896. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About California Resources

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.