California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 42,300 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,241,834 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 42,300 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $74,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 156,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,139,000 after buying an additional 12,349 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,665,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,006,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,179 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. HSBC began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.94.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $67.33 on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $55.12 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.51%.

Occidental Petroleum Profile

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.