Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded to “Hold” at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on OXY. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.62.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.1%

OXY traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,099,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,006,167. The stock has a market cap of $52.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.41. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $34.78 and a fifty-two week high of $53.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.69 and its 200-day moving average is $43.93.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, with a total value of $194,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. City Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently 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.