Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Receives $71.87 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.44.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $63.13 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 1.61. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 524,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $31,329,315.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 248,542,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,850,412,463. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,552,271,000 after buying an additional 19,586,612 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,995,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $357,977,000 after buying an additional 1,088,052 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,699,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $220,910,000 after purchasing an additional 82,360 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 2,340,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $139,749,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $83,568,000 after purchasing an additional 483,422 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.