Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Receives $61.55 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.55.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have bought a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,365,992,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434,098 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,053,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,896,890 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $95,400,000 after buying an additional 1,766,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $203,459,000 after buying an additional 1,337,728 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $45.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $44.70 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.34 and its 200 day moving average is $50.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 1.55.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

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.