UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $54.00 to $56.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on OXY. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE OXY opened at $52.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.45. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $45.17 and a 1-year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.07%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 257,758,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,053,055,000 after buying an additional 8,896,890 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,365,992,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $701,816,000 after purchasing an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 valued at $349,085,000 after purchasing an additional 491,797 shares in the last quarter. 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.