Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price was up 0.5% on Monday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $81.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as high as $67.09 and last traded at $66.94. Approximately 2,096,622 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 8,719,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.63.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 140.1% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 17,582 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 10,259 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 82,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,345,000 after purchasing an additional 11,683 shares during the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 5,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $59.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.