Occidental Petroleum Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 101,542 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 44% compared to the average daily volume of 70,542 call options.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.03. 15,392,380 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,765,635. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.00 and a 200-day moving average of $60.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $45.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.58. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $49.75 and a 12 month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on OXY shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’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 owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $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.