Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,699,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,360 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $220,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE OXY opened at $63.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.98 and its 200 day moving average is $61.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.64. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $55.12 and a twelve month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on OXY shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.00.

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.