California Resources Insider Lowered Holding By 57% During Last Year

Insiders were net sellers of California Resources Corporation's (NYSE:CRC ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for California Resources

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At California Resources

The Non-Executive Director, Mark McFarland, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$8.5m worth of shares at a price of US$47.52 each. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$44.82. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Mark McFarland.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.1m for 23.28k shares. On the other hand they divested 235.00k shares, for US$11m. Mark McFarland ditched 235.00k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$47.26. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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California Resources Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at California Resources. Specifically, Lead Independent Director James Chapman bought US$79k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. California Resources insiders own about US$27m worth of shares. That equates to 0.7% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About California Resources Insiders?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. But we can't say the same for the transactions over the last 12 months. While recent transactions indicate confidence in California Resources, insiders don't own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. Overall they seem reasonably aligned. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing California Resources. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for California Resources you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.