UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $52.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.24% from the company’s previous close.

OXY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.27.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock traded down $1.68 on Monday, reaching $38.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,597,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,457,775. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $37.91 and a 52 week high of $71.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.70. The company has a market capitalization of $36.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other 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.