Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $71.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as high as $64.56 and last traded at $64.43. Approximately 1,697,886 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 8,403,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.68.

OXY has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $56.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The company’s revenue was down 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Occidental Petroleum Company 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.