Howard Capital Management Inc. Makes New $221,000 Investment in Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Howard Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,240 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,230,989 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,960,202,000 after acquiring an additional 12,107,285 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 13,826,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $682,456,000 after acquiring an additional 249,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,128,136 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $401,162,000 after acquiring an additional 710,220 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,175,439 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $354,180,000 after acquiring an additional 110,378 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,432,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,799,000 after acquiring an additional 195,742 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $40.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $53.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.55.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.79%.The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OXY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Melius Research started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.26.

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.