Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.8261.

OXY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Capital One Financial lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore raised Occidental Petroleum from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard A. Jackson acquired 4,770 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,261,853.24. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.0%

OXY opened at $59.12 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.01. The company has a market capitalization of $59.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.15. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $38.80 and a 1-year high of $67.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.10%.

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.