Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $51.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.98% from the stock’s current price.

OXY has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.6%

OXY opened at $41.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $40.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 0.91. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $34.78 and a 12 month high of $53.20.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.79%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,201,540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,214,773,000 after buying an additional 697,521 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,044,478 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,649,147,000 after acquiring an additional 615,566 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 22.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,089,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $756,796,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267,269 shares during the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% in the first quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 13,826,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $682,456,000 after purchasing an additional 249,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,718,939 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $412,045,000 after purchasing an additional 900,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.