Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 142,848 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 98% compared to the average daily volume of 72,310 call options.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $60.79 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.03. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $61.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $59.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 64.60%.

Key Stories Impacting Occidental Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stock hit a 52‑week high, reflecting strong investor interest and momentum following recent analyst action and oil price strength. Occidental Petroleum stock hits 52-week high at 60.75 USD
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised ratings/targets this morning — HSBC to a Buy with a $68 PT and Mizuho boosting its target to $72 — and JPMorgan upgraded OXY from Underweight to Neutral (PT $63). Those calls give the stock near‑term support from institutional investors. HSBC price target raise / Benzinga Mizuho Raises Occidental Price Target to $72.00 JPMorgan upgrade / TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: Oil price strength and active balance‑sheet moves are lifting sentiment — crude spikes help E&P multiples, while Occidental’s cash tender offers and recent asset sale (OxyChem) support a deleveraging narrative. Occidental Petroleum gains as oil prices spike and debt buyback stays in focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings: OXY beat EPS expectations last quarter but revenue came in below estimates — a mixed fundamental print that makes the stock sensitive to forward guidance and oil prices (investors are watching whether the post‑earnings rally can continue). Occidental (OXY) Up 15.6% Since Last Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: General market interest/trending coverage is increasing (investor attention can amplify moves but doesn’t guarantee direction). Is Trending Stock Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) a Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk from Middle East disruptions: reports say the Shah gas field and Fujairah crude loadings have been affected, which could dent near‑term production and export revenue if outages persist. This is the main tangible downside risk to the recent rally. Occidental Faces New Middle East Disruptions

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,504,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,718,054,000 after acquiring an additional 8,273,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,602,660 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $436,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,721 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,959,638 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $162,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,638 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,029.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,493,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $70,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,541 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,730,847 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $276,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.14.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.