Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.03 and last traded at $51.65. Approximately 1,693,712 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 9,123,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OXY. Scotiabank cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.29.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $45.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.08.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 8.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 137,163 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,069,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $10,331,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $2,975,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,547,000. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 57,416 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 31,809 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.