Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price was up 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $52.34 and last traded at $51.80. Approximately 3,008,696 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 9,121,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $46.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.83 and its 200 day moving average is $59.52.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Himalaya Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,433,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $67,601,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter worth $63,880,000. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $42,744,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $233,687,000 after acquiring an additional 532,318 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.