Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 289,201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 14,070 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $14,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $476,000. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $642,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,461 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,942,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rule One Partners LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Rule One Partners LLC now owns 325,501 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,083,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. Scotiabank downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.48.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $43.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.00. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $64.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.81.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Occidental Petroleum Profile

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.