Barclays Initiates Coverage on Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Investment analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.43.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE OXY traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.44. 2,680,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,913,292. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.36. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $34.78 and a twelve month high of $52.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.16. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 7.81%.The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.8% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.