Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 1.6%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price shot up 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $54.41 and last traded at $54.32. 4,597,097 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 8,979,720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OXY. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.31.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 19,586,612 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $233,687,000 after purchasing an additional 532,318 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,661,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,707,000 after purchasing an additional 277,462 shares during the last quarter. Himalaya Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $92,433,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,450,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,398,000 after acquiring an additional 503,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.