Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.3%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was down 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $66.75 and last traded at $67.19. Approximately 1,339,772 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 8,636,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on OXY shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. HSBC started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.94.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.12 and a 200-day moving average of $61.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,552,271,000 after acquiring an additional 19,586,612 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,021,929 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334,651 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,995,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $357,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,052 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,665,494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $302,697,000 after purchasing an additional 125,927 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,699,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $220,910,000 after purchasing an additional 82,360 shares during the period. 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.