Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares dropped 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $50.97 and last traded at $51.13. Approximately 2,676,712 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 9,180,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OXY. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.25.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.6% in the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,735,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.