Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $70.21.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $51.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.91. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $49.75 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.