New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 94,144 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 825,305 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 94,144 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Occidental Petroleum worth $49,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on OXY. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with 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, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.94.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $67.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.97 and a 200-day moving average of $61.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 22.51%.

Occidental Petroleum Profile

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.