Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.17.

A number of research firms have commented on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Occidental Petroleum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Roth upgraded OXY to Buy, describing the company as one of the better ways to participate in potential upside for oil prices. The upgrade reinforces the bullish view that Occidental’s upstream operations could benefit from stronger crude markets. Occidental Petroleum raised to Buy at Roth as one of better ways to play oil upside
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $80 from $78 and maintained an Overweight rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The higher target supports the view that analysts see improving fundamentals and favorable valuation. Stephens raises Occidental Petroleum price target
• Positive Sentiment: Repeated Zacks coverage highlights surging earnings estimates for Occidental, a potentially important near-term catalyst because upward estimate revisions often attract momentum-focused investors. Zacks also identifies OXY as a long-term value stock. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside for Occidental Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Occidental is exploring a potential partnership with Algeria’s Sonatrach. Although details remain limited, a deal could create additional international growth or development opportunities. Sonatrach and Oxy explore partnership prospects
• Neutral Sentiment: J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley both reiterated Hold ratings, providing a counterweight to the recent upgrades and suggesting some analysts remain cautious about valuation, commodity-price volatility, or Occidental’s balance-sheet risks. J.P. Morgan maintains Hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: Venezuela expects to attract approximately $76 billion in oil investment over five years. If successful, increased Venezuelan production could add global supply and pressure crude prices, indirectly creating a risk for OXY’s oil-sensitive earnings. Venezuela expects major oil investment boost

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $38.80 and a 12 month high of $67.45. The company has a market cap of $62.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.20.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 28.36%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was up 53.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an energy company engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development and production. Its operations are focused primarily on the United States, including the Permian and DJ basins, as well as selected international regions in the Middle East and North Africa.

The company’s OxyChem subsidiary manufactures and markets chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyls and other chemical products used in water treatment, construction, healthcare, packaging and industrial applications.