Traders Purchase Large Volume of Occidental Petroleum Call Options (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 101,924 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the typical volume of 61,514 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.14.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $46.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.87. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $34.79 and a twelve month high of $64.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.05 and its 200 day moving average is $45.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.4% during the first quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 116,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,753,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,473 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 18,249 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth approximately $7,516,000. Finally, Addison Capital Co bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $252,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.