Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target Raised to $73.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $67.00 to $73.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

OXY has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

OXY stock opened at $62.36 on Wednesday. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $38.80 and a 1-year high of $67.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $62.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.28.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 28.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 17.34%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $12,868,205,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,329.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 59,725 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 55,546 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,041,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 7.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,168,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $140,947,000 after purchasing an additional 145,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,685,169 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $109,536,000 after purchasing an additional 66,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Roth Capital upgraded OXY from “neutral” to “buy” and assigned a $70 price target. The target implies meaningful upside from the stock’s recent trading level and is the strongest direct bullish catalyst in the latest coverage.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $69 to $71 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, indicating greater valuation support despite a cautious overall stance.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Zacks highlighted Occidental’s history of earnings surprises and the combination of estimate revisions and earnings trends that could support another quarterly beat. Will Occidental Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary pointing to Occidental’s valuation and potential undervaluation may be attracting value-focused investors. The company’s latest reported quarter also showed substantial year-over-year revenue and earnings growth.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, commonly known as Oxy, is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations are concentrated in the United States, including the Permian and Denver-Julesburg basins, and in selected international regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The company also operates midstream and marketing businesses that support the gathering, processing, transportation and sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.