Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $51.84 and last traded at $51.76. 2,143,220 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,104,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on OXY. Barclays dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.46. The company has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 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.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

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

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.