Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Seaport Research Partners

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Seaport Research Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on OXY. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.83.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $60.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.41. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $38.80 and a 1 year high of $67.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.42.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.38 per share, for a total transaction of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at $23,261,853.24. The trade was a 1.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 12.5% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.2% in the first quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.