Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shot up 0.1% during 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. 1,284,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,676,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.00.

OXY has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, HSBC began 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.57 and a 200-day moving average of $61.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

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