Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

OXY has been the topic of several other research reports. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.83.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $62.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $61.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69 and a beta of 0.22. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $34.78 and a 1 year high of $67.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.44 and its 200 day moving average is $45.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.The business’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Occidental Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $74 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling meaningful analyst support and ~19% upside from recent levels. Stephens Adjusts Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s closing of the OxyChem deal removes the chemicals business and provides Occidental with proceeds to pay down debt and focus on core oil & gas — a structural balance-sheet positive. Berkshire Adds OxyChem
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst estimate revisions and coverage have been constructive recently (Zacks and other outlets note rising earnings estimates), supporting medium-term upside if commodity tailwinds return. Earnings Estimates Rising (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Occidental scheduled Q1 results for May 5 with a May 6 conference call — an event risk that could move the stock depending on production, realized prices and use of OxyChem proceeds. Q1 Results Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Crude oil pulled back today as markets priced in a possible de‑escalation in the Iran conflict and reported larger U.S. inventory builds — reducing the geopolitical premium that had supported energy stocks. This drove the immediate weakness in OXY. Markets Rally; Oil Falls (Fool)
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term profit-taking and technical selling after a strong run higher amplified the drop in OXY, a common reaction in oil-levered names when crude eases. Shares Fall as Crude Retreats (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: Citi maintained a hold rating recently and some large institutional rebalancing has shown sizable repositioning in funds — items that can cap near-term upside if selling persists. Citi Keeps Hold Rating

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.