Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.82.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:OXY opened at $48.84 on Monday. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $44.70 and a 52 week high of $71.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.89. The firm has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.