Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.10.

OXY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $47.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.03 and a 200-day moving average of $55.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $45.17 and a twelve month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 10,382 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,509,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 70,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,638,000 after buying an additional 15,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,247.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after acquiring an additional 46,740 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is 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.