Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded down 1.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $41.89 and last traded at $42.35. 2,533,273 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 11,157,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut Occidental Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.14.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 58,549 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.