Occidental Petroleum Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 214,235 call options on the company. This is an increase of 144% compared to the typical volume of 87,773 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on OXY. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.70.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $206,560,000 after buying an additional 98,703 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $233,687,000 after acquiring an additional 532,318 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,720,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,661,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,707,000 after acquiring an additional 277,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,556,461 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,220,000 after purchasing an additional 133,546 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.9 %

OXY opened at $50.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.67. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $48.42 and a one year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.92%.

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.