Occidental Petroleum Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 122,354 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 49% compared to the average daily volume of 82,180 call options.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard A. Jackson acquired 4,770 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at $23,261,853.24. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI double-upgraded Occidental Petroleum to Outperform from Underperform and lifted its price target to $65 from $58, saying the company should benefit from deleveraging, stronger cash flow, and improved capital efficiency. Occidental upgraded as Evercore sees deleveraging driving cash flow upside
• Positive Sentiment: Brent crude jumped on renewed Middle East supply concerns, which tends to boost Occidental’s earnings and free cash flow because the company is highly sensitive to oil prices. Why Is Occidental Petroleum Stock Surging on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Several market reports pointed to OXY as a beneficiary of both the analyst upgrade and the crude rally, reinforcing the move in the shares. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) Surges Nearly 4% on Analyst Upgrade and Crude Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target on Occidental, but the article did not indicate a major change in the broader bullish setup. Morgan Stanley Trims Price Target on Occidental Petroleum (OXY). Here is Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks articles said investors have recently been paying close attention to OXY and that the stock may be positioned to beat earnings estimates again, but these were more commentary than fresh catalysts. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.48.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 5.2%

NYSE OXY traded up $2.67 on Wednesday, hitting $54.35. 9,830,706 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,987,984. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $54.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.37 and a 200-day moving average of $52.27. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $38.80 and a 12 month high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.44 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 19.98% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business’s revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.20%.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.