Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) fell 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $49.30 and last traded at $49.42. 3,136,142 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 9,311,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on OXY. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.25.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 34.6% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.