Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded down 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $53.56 and last traded at $54.05. 2,742,436 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 9,103,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on OXY. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. 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 research note on Friday, July 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.18.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $48.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.87 and a 200 day moving average of $60.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $53,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.