Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on OXY. Bank of America increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.62.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $53.65 on Monday. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $56.34. The company has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.24 and a 200-day moving average of $44.05.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.The firm 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 business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Klesse bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, with a total value of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 218,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 57,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after buying an additional 16,506 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 41.9% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,972 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,193.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $474,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Occidental Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: 1PointFive’s STRATOS direct air capture (DAC) plant in the Permian is nearing startup in Q2 2026, advancing Occidental’s carbon-capture growth pathway and potential non-oil revenue. Occidental Petroleum, 1PointFive STRATOS DAC plant nears startup in Texas Permian basin
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s growing stake and the company’s push to balance debt reduction, buybacks and carbon-capture investments support confidence from a large, long‑term investor. Occidental Balances Debt Buybacks Carbon Capture Plans And Berkshire’s Growing Stake
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst interest: Argus recently upgraded OXY, which can provide near-term buy-side support. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at Argus
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro oil risk remains elevated—analysts warn a Strait of Hormuz disruption could push crude toward $100/bbl, a tail-risk that underpins oil equities but is highly uncertain in timing. Oil’s Worst Case Scenario Is Here. $100 Crude Could Be Coming.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market dispersion among majors: some energy names outperformed after the Iran conflict while others (like Exxon in recent headlines) underperformed—this mixed reaction creates stock-specific winners and losers. Exxon Is Down Since the Iran Conflict. These Energy Stocks Are Bigger Winners.
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts argue OXY’s recent ~30% rally leaves less upside and prefer peers; Seeking Alpha published a downgrade and notes the easy returns may be gone, which can prompt profit-taking. Occidental Petroleum: Strong Execution, But The Easy Upside Is Gone (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Relative preference for other midstream names: at least one analyst favors Kinder Morgan over OXY amid oil-price volatility, highlighting perceived lower risk or better risk/reward elsewhere. I Favor Kinder Morgan Over Occidental Petroleum Amid Oil Price Volatilities
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation scrutiny after the rally: coverage noting that the oil-price-driven lift may have pushed OXY toward richer multiples has increased selling pressure and intraday volatility. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) Valuation Check As Oil Price Rally Lifts Shares On Strait Of Hormuz Supply Fears

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.