Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 342,831 Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 342,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $22,284,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OXY. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $57.32 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $67.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.81 and a 200 day moving average of $53.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.15.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 19.98% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company’s revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 5.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.17.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard A. Jackson acquired 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at $23,261,853.24. The trade was a 1.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.