JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 51,385 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 26.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,853 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 51,385 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.16% of California Resources worth $7,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in California Resources by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,576,306 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $190,328,000 after acquiring an additional 165,629 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of California Resources by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,449,988 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $181,021,000 after purchasing an additional 168,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of California Resources by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,592,663 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $83,583,000 after buying an additional 55,815 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in California Resources by 8.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,202 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,116,000 after buying an additional 75,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in California Resources by 2,615.2% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,011 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,865,000 after buying an additional 811,963 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $475,603.25. This represents a 50.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Omar Hayat sold 16,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $883,762.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,707,269.20. The trade was a 34.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of California Resources in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a research note on Tuesday. Capital One Financial upgraded California Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on California Resources in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.25.

California Resources Stock Performance

California Resources stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.11. The stock had a trading volume of 610,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,449. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. California Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $43.09 and a 12 month high of $60.41. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $54.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.49.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.13 million. California Resources had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 194.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that California Resources Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.3875 dividend. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.41%.

California Resources 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.