Hot Stock Alert: California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC)

On Monday, Shares of California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) showed the bullish trend with a higher momentum of 1.15% and ended its trading session at $37.03. The company traded total volume of 1,277,655 shares as contrast to its average volume of 2.18M shares. The company has a market value of $1.79B and about 48.39M shares outstanding.

California Resources Corporation (CRC), an independent California-based oil and gas exploration and production company, recently stated a net loss attributable to common stock (CRC net loss) of $2.0M, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2018. Adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2018 was $8.0M, or $0.18 per diluted share.

Adjusted EBITDAX for the first quarter of 2018 was $250.0M and cash offered by operating activities was $200.0M. Capital investments were $139.0M.

Quarterly Highlights Include:

• Produced 123.0K BOE per day, above the midpoint of the guidance range
• Invested capital of $139.0M. Drilled 44 wells with internally funded capital and 30 wells with joint venture (JV) capital
• Generated adjusted EBITDAX of $250.0M, reflecting an adjusted EBITDAX margin of 41%.

First Quarter 2018 Results:

For the first quarter of 2018, the CRC net loss was $2.0M, or $0.05 per diluted share, and adjusted net income was $8.0M, or $0.18 per diluted share. Adjusted net income excluded $7.0M of non-cash derivatives losses and a $2.0M charge for severance costs.

Total daily production volumes averaged 123.0K barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day for the first quarter of 2018. Contrast to the fourth quarter of 2017, first quarter production was reduced by 2,400 BOE per day because of PSC effects from higher prices. Excluding PSC effects, sequential production was essentially flat. For the first quarter of 2018, oil volumes averaged 77.0K barrels per day, NGL volumes averaged 16.0K barrels per day and gas volumes averaged 182.0K thousand cubic feet (MCF) per day. First quarter results reflect a residual 400 BOE per day negative impact because of the 2017 California wildfires and subsequent mudslides. The impact of PSC effect relative to guidance was a small negative amount.

Production costs for the first quarter of 2018 were $212.0M, essentially flat with the $211.0M in the first quarter of 2017. On a per unit basis, first quarter production costs of $19.08 per BOE were higher than the comparable prior year period of $17.70 per BOE, because of lower production. First quarter unit production costs were lower than formerly revealed guidance levels, reflecting continued cost reductions and efficiency, as well as timing of activities, across most cost categories. The industry practice for reporting PSCs can result in higher production costs per barrel as gross field operating costs are matched with net production. Excluding the PSC effects, per unit production costs¹ for the first quarter of 2018 would have been $17.47. General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $63.0M for the first quarter of 2018, contrast to $66.0M in the fourth quarter of 2017 and consistent with the prior year comparable period. These costs were also lower than the guidance range for the period because of the timing of certain corporate expenses.

CRC stated taxes other than on income of $38.0M, $5.0M higher than the prior year period mainly because of the increase in market prices for greenhouse gas allowances, among other factors. Exploration expense of $8.0M for the first quarter of 2018 increased $2.0M from the prior year comparable period, demonstrating the Company’s commitment to the exploration opportunities within its large asset portfolio.

Capital investment in the first quarter of 2018 totaled $139.0M, excluding JV capital. About $94.0M was directed to drilling and capital workovers.

Cash offered by operating activities was $200.0M. CRC generated free cash flow of $61.0M in the first quarter of 2018.

The Company offered net profit margin of -15.90% while its gross profit margin was 56.70%. ROE was recorded as 46.10% while beta factor was 6.05. The stock, as of recent close, has shown the weekly upbeat performance of 14.33% which was maintained at 90.48% in this year.