Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on OXY. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.25.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $50.43 on Monday. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $48.42 and a twelve month high of $71.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.45. The company has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $32,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 34.6% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $87,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.