Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.4%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $66.38 and last traded at $66.23. Approximately 2,008,683 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 8,725,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.09. The stock has a market cap of $58.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 22.51%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.