Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,610 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 10,485 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 57,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,817,000 after buying an additional 16,506 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 9.0% in the second quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 5,594 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,244,517 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $52,282,000 after purchasing an additional 42,447 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $149,247,000 after purchasing an additional 647,243 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $61.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.21. The firm has a market cap of $60.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00 and a beta of 0.34. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $62.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.59.

More Occidental Petroleum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / comparison pieces argue OXY stands to benefit more than some Permian peers from oil-price spikes due to limited hedging (boosting near-term cash flow) and stronger earnings revisions — a structural reason for relative outperformance. DVN vs. OXY: Which Permian Stock Benefits More From Oil Price Spikes?
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan/other broker activity: recent upgrade/newsflow (reported 3/23) and coverage comparisons have supported investor interest and momentum in OXY. Occidental Petroleum Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Positive Sentiment: Macro headlines (reported pre-market) — constructive U.S.-Iran diplomatic comments — lifted crude futures and oil-linked names, providing a tailwind to OXY shares. Pre-Market Turns Green
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and screens are including OXY among oil stocks with outsized upside potential amid the recent crude rally, which can attract momentum and thematic inflows. 3 Oil Stocks Set to Deliver 50%+ Returns in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a “Hold” and $65 price target (modest upside vs. the current level) — a neutral signal that may cap short-term upside until clearer catalysts emerge. Benzinga Coverage Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles ask whether the recent run makes OXY fully valued now; these pieces can temper new-money flows even as momentum remains. Is It Too Late To Consider Occidental Petroleum?
• Negative Sentiment: Company fundamentals to watch: last reported quarter beat EPS but missed revenue and year-over-year revenue was down; those execution/volume signals could restrain valuation if higher oil prices don’t translate into sustainable top-line growth. (Quarterly details reported Feb 18.)

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.