Wolfe Research Has Lowered Expectations for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Wolfe Research from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on OXY. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Barclays assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.13. The company had a trading volume of 11,388,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,287,986. The stock has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $34.78 and a 12 month high of $52.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, Director William R. Klesse bought 5,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 218,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. This represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.8% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.