Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $58.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $67.45. The company has a market capitalization of $58.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.18 and a 200 day moving average of $54.81.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.57. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 17.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, CEO Richard A. Jackson acquired 4,770 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.38 per share, for a total transaction of $249,852.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,261,853.24. This represents a 1.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.