Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on OXY. HSBC upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Capital One Financial lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.83.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $62.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69 and a beta of 0.22. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $34.78 and a 1 year high of $67.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Occidental Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Occidental Petroleum News

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $74 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling meaningful analyst support and ~19% upside from recent levels. Stephens Adjusts Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s closing of the OxyChem deal removes the chemicals business and provides Occidental with proceeds to pay down debt and focus on core oil & gas — a structural balance-sheet positive. Berkshire Adds OxyChem
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst estimate revisions and coverage have been constructive recently (Zacks and other outlets note rising earnings estimates), supporting medium-term upside if commodity tailwinds return. Earnings Estimates Rising (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Occidental scheduled Q1 results for May 5 with a May 6 conference call — an event risk that could move the stock depending on production, realized prices and use of OxyChem proceeds. Q1 Results Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Crude oil pulled back today as markets priced in a possible de‑escalation in the Iran conflict and reported larger U.S. inventory builds — reducing the geopolitical premium that had supported energy stocks. This drove the immediate weakness in OXY. Markets Rally; Oil Falls (Fool)
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term profit-taking and technical selling after a strong run higher amplified the drop in OXY, a common reaction in oil-levered names when crude eases. Shares Fall as Crude Retreats (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: Citi maintained a hold rating recently and some large institutional rebalancing has shown sizable repositioning in funds — items that can cap near-term upside if selling persists. Citi Keeps Hold Rating

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.