Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of OXY stock opened at $55.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.62. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $49.75 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.