HSBC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price target upped by equities researchers at HSBC from $59.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.07% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Occidental Petroleum from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Argus raised Occidental Petroleum to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.48.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 2.1%

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $59.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03 and a beta of 0.34. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $34.78 and a 52-week high of $60.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.94.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $35,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.