Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 264 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,549 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped 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 raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.94.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $64.39 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.80 and its 200-day moving average is $61.42. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $55.12 and a 1 year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.51%.

Occidental Petroleum 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.