Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 2.2%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price traded down 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $65.64 and last traded at $66.82. 12,447,987 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 67% from the average session volume of 7,474,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carret Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 17.8% during the first quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Stapp Wealth Management Pllc increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.8% during the first quarter. Stapp Wealth Management Pllc now owns 20,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $734,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 139.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 78,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,104,000 after purchasing an additional 45,722 shares during the period. Finally, Little House Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $699,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.