Analysts Set Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Price Target at $60.45

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.82.

Several analysts have issued reports on OXY shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of OXY opened at $49.72 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 1.51. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $44.70 and a 1-year high of $71.19.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.