Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 0.4% Higher

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $66.38 and last traded at $66.23. Approximately 2,008,683 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 8,725,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.39 and its 200-day moving average is $61.16. The stock has a market cap of $59.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04 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 (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 156,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,139,000 after buying an additional 12,349 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $29,665,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $1,006,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,179 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 16,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.