J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 19,393 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 152,046 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 19,393 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $6,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 57,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after acquiring an additional 16,506 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 32.1% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 3,547 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.5% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 64,748 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares during the period. VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 8,832 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chou Associates Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 360.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chou Associates Management Inc. now owns 313,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,149,000 after purchasing an additional 245,000 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.59.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $64.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.87. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.78 and a 52-week high of $67.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37 and a beta of 0.34.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 64.60%.

Key Headlines Impacting Occidental Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings-estimate revisions are moving upward, which supports near-term upside expectations and helps explain recent buying pressure. Analysts and research notes cite improved EPS outlooks that can lift sentiment. Earnings Estimates Rising for Occidental (OXY)
• Positive Sentiment: OXY is trading near its 52-week high and is listed among stocks with momentum and upside potential—momentum can attract more buyers and technical funds. 4 Stocks Trading Near 52-Week High With More Upside Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention includes upgrades/price-target lifts that have helped push OXY to a new 12‑month high — analyst optimism is a direct support to the stock. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/peer momentum: coverage of Berkshire Hathaway’s energy holdings and broader interest in energy names has buoyed stocks like OXY, adding to investor appetite. Warren Buffett’s Energy Picks Soared
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi left a “hold/neutral” rating on OXY while raising its price target, a mixed signal (the PT bump is constructive but the rating tempers bullish conviction). Citi Keeps Their Hold Rating on Occidental Petroleum (OXY)
• Negative Sentiment: Contrarian/technical caution: some commentary argues the stock may be near a short-term peak and suggests income strategies (covered calls) or profit-taking, which could apply downward pressure if investors act. Occidental Petroleum Stock May Be at a Peak – Time to Sell OXY Covered Calls?

Occidental Petroleum Profile

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.