California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC - Free Report) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,640 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 25,322 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of California Resources worth $2,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in California Resources during the third quarter worth $682,000. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in California Resources during the second quarter worth $2,213,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in California Resources by 38.4% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 470,694 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,050,000 after buying an additional 130,526 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in California Resources during the second quarter worth $729,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in California Resources by 9.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on California Resources from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com upgraded California Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of California Resources in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group assumed coverage on California Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on California Resources from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Noelle M. Repetti sold 8,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.75, for a total transaction of $488,927.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,181,437.26. This represents a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,270 shares of company stock worth $1,387,778 in the last quarter. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

California Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRC opened at $58.56 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $54.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. California Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $43.09 and a 1-year high of $60.41. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98.

California Resources (NYSE:CRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. California Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. California Resources's revenue was up 194.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. California Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.41%.

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.