Carret Asset Management LLC Takes $270,000 Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Carret Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,021,929 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334,651 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 600.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,242,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $145,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,656 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,995,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $357,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,052 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 51.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,665,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE OXY traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $67.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,432,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,608,870. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $55.12 and a 52-week high of $71.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.29. The firm has a market cap of $59.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OXY. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.94.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.