Brokerages Set Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Target Price at $65.72

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.72.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $50.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.77. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $49.66 and a 52 week high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction 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 owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in 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 period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors 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.