Wolfe Research Cuts Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $54.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price objective trimmed by Wolfe Research from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Scotiabank cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:OXY traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.13. The stock had a trading volume of 11,388,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,287,986. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $34.78 and a 12 month high of $52.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.16. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 7.81%.The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, with a total value of $194,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 bought and sold shares of OXY. Cove Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 46,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. DDD Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 71,556 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.