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

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued 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 $63.70.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 273.2% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 23,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after buying an additional 17,425 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $319,000. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 59.6% in the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 17,561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 13.2% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,660 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 4,282 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $50.45 on Tuesday. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $48.42 and a 1-year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $47.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.82.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

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.