Melius Begins Coverage on Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Melius started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $64.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on OXY. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.65.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY stock opened at $45.7340 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $34.78 and a 52-week high of $58.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.08.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.79%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,274,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 17,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,596,699 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $78,813,000 after buying an additional 140,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,065,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $349,085,000 after buying an additional 491,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, swisspartners Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,006,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.