Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 12,592 Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 360,172 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 12,592 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of California Resources worth $18,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRC. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of California Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,847,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in California Resources by 44.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,950,000 after purchasing an additional 22,150 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in California Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,213,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in California Resources by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 470,694 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,050,000 after purchasing an additional 130,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in California Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $729,000. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CRC. Stephens started coverage on California Resources in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of California Resources from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on 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, StockNews.com downgraded California Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

California Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRC stock traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.87. 215,253 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 849,995. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.86. California Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $43.09 and a 52-week high of $60.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.13 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 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Resources Co. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.3875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Resources news, CEO Francisco Leon sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.18, for a total value of $368,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 166,357 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,437.26. This represents a 4.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 10,000 shares of California Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $530,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $916,953. This trade represents a 36.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,270 shares of company stock worth $1,387,778 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.