Meitav Investment House Ltd. Has $827,000 Stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. trimmed its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,799 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 11,646 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 156,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,139,000 after purchasing an additional 12,349 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $29,665,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $5,758,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,279.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 231,899 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,847,000 after buying an additional 215,091 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.41. 8,703,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,700,258. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.03. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $55.12 and a 12-month high of $71.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.06.

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.