Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.02, but opened at $53.25. Occidental Petroleum shares last traded at $53.6090, with a volume of 6,374,528 shares traded.

More Occidental Petroleum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Recent crude rally and strong quarterly results lifted sentiment heading into this week, supporting higher valuations after a sharp February–early March run. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) Stock Climbs 17% on Crude Rally and Stellar Quarterly Results
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity shows elevated call volume and a directionally bullish skew, indicating some investors are positioning for further upside in OXY. Occidental Petroleum call volume above normal and directionally bullish
• Positive Sentiment: Market focus on Middle East disruptions has pushed oil prices sharply higher at times, which benefits Occidental’s upstream margins and cash flow outlook. Exxon, Occidental, and Cheniere Stocks Jump. Three Reasons Why.
• Neutral Sentiment: Occidental expanded a debt tender offer and made amendments — a move that can signal active balance-sheet management (potentially positive long-term) but may pressure near-term cash usage. Monitor details and funding sources. Occidental Petroleum Expands Debt Tender Offer and Amendments
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus analyst rating sits around “Hold,” reflecting mixed views on near-term catalysts versus long-term cash-generation potential. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that G-7 officials may release strategic reserves (or signaled readiness to do so) have capped the recent oil spike; such releases would reduce oil prices and pressure OXY’s revenue outlook. Occidental, Other Oil Stocks Drop. What a G-7 Release of Reserves Would Mean.
• Negative Sentiment: Oil settled back below $100 after headlines suggested the G-7 might avoid an immediate coordinated release, undercutting the earlier price surge that had boosted OXY. Lower crude = weaker near-term earnings power. Oil Prices Back Below $100 Amid Iran ‘Excursion,’ Despite This Surprise
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece argues investors should prefer Exxon (XOM) over Occidental given relative scale and risk, which may weigh on investor preference and relative multiple. The War Premium Is Fading: Why I Favor Exxon Mobil Over Occidental Petroleum

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.24.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.33. The firm has a market cap of $52.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Klesse bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 218,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,533,228.74. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 57,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 16,506 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 37,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 72,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,063,000 after acquiring an additional 17,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,356.0% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 116,395 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,890,000 after acquiring an additional 108,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.