Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Susquehanna reduced 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, September 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.60.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of OXY traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $52.03. 10,823,279 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,615,584. The company has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.32. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $49.90 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

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 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 $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.