Morgan Stanley Cuts Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $50.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price target cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.84.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.18. 5,188,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,708,558. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $52.58. The firm has a market cap of $43.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 7.81%.Occidental Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,193.9% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.