Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Research Coverage Started at Seaport Research Partners

Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $73.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on OXY. Capital One Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research cut Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Stephens reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.83.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $60.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.45. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $38.80 and a twelve month high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.10%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,261,853.24. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New analyst coverage adds support. Seaport Global initiated coverage of Occidental with a Buy rating, potentially improving investor sentiment and reinforcing the case that OXY remains undervalued relative to its earnings and cash-flow potential. Occidental Petroleum receives a Buy from Seaport Global
• Positive Sentiment: Post-earnings momentum remains notable. OXY is up 8.2% since reporting results 30 days ago. Investors are now watching forward earnings estimates to determine whether the rally can continue; the company’s prior earnings beat and substantial year-over-year revenue growth provide a constructive fundamental backdrop. Occidental up 8.2% since its last earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader value-investing commentary offers limited new information. Recent articles discussing cash-producing and value stocks may support interest in inexpensive, profitable companies, but the available reports do not identify a new operational development, acquisition, production update, or earnings revision for Occidental. Cash-producing stocks on a buy list
• Negative Sentiment: No new company-specific downside catalyst was reported. Following the recent advance, OXY may be vulnerable to profit-taking or weaker oil prices, but the supplied articles do not cite a new negative development. The absence of fresh earnings guidance or operating news may help explain why the stock has recently decreased despite favorable analyst coverage.

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.