Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 91.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,639 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 59,309 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,457 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 14,754 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,146 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $64.39 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $55.12 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.43.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.94.

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.