Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Receives $71.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several equities analysts have commented on OXY shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 584,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.26 per share, with a total value of $35,224,983.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 251,168,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,135,393,020.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 584,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.26 per share, with a total value of $35,224,983.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 251,168,155 shares in the company, valued at $15,135,393,020.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 2,745,563 shares of company stock valued at $164,581,732. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $14,552,271,000 after buying an additional 19,586,612 shares in the last quarter. Himalaya Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $92,433,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $67,601,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,880,000. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $52.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.58. 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 has a 12-month low of $51.79 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.89.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.