Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 4.3% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shot up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $41.27 and last traded at $40.67. 7,424,589 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 10,969,753 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.01.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on OXY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.29.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.32.

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.