Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.50.

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $52.19 on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $51.79 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.75 and its 200-day moving average is $61.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 334,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $19,984,044.75. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 255,281,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,253,071,059. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 2,161,013 shares of company stock valued at $129,356,749. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,552,271,000 after acquiring an additional 19,586,612 shares during the last quarter. Himalaya Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $92,433,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $67,601,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,880,000. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,744,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.