Susquehanna Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $67.00 to $70.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “positive” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.62% from the company’s previous close.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Capital raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE OXY opened at $58.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.59. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, CEO Richard A. Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,261,853.24. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 15.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.8% in the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 44,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.