Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 0.1% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) rose 0.1% during trading on Tuesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $81.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as high as $67.10 and last traded at $67.09. Approximately 1,284,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 8,676,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on OXY. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. HSBC began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake 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 worth $14,552,271,000 after acquiring an additional 19,586,612 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,021,929 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334,651 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,995,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $357,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,665,494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $302,697,000 after purchasing an additional 125,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,699,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $220,910,000 after buying an additional 82,360 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.29. The company has a market capitalization of $59.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.51%.

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.