Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 0.1% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday 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 $67.10 and last traded at $67.09. Approximately 1,284,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 8,676,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.29. The company has a market cap of $59.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.