Susquehanna Raises Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $81.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price objective raised by Susquehanna from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

OXY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a hold rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.94.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.1 %

OXY stock opened at $67.33 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.29. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $55.12 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $59.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.