Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 430,401 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 243,975 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $20,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter worth $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.38 per share, for a total transaction of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $61.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $61.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.16. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $38.80 and a 1 year high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 28.36%.The firm’s revenue was up 53.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 6.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.96.

Occidental Petroleum Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its operations are concentrated primarily in the United States, including the Permian and DJ basins, and it also has international activities in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The company operates through oil and gas, chemical and midstream and marketing businesses. Its chemical segment, OxyChem, manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products, vinyls and other basic chemicals used in water treatment, construction, industrial manufacturing and consumer products.