Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,654 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 26,138 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $5,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $67.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 1.64. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $55.12 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.30%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.94.

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.