Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded up 1.2% on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $71.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as high as $64.56 and last traded at $64.43. 1,697,886 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 8,403,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.68.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna upped 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. Barclays started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $56.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Occidental Petroleum Company 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.