CCM Investment Group LLC Takes $2.44 Million Position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 49,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,435,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 615.2% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.71.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $44.31 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.78 and a 12-month high of $59.11. The company has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.33.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.80%.

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.