StockNews.com Upgrades Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) to Hold

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

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on OXY. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $52.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $71.18. The company has a market capitalization of $48.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 1.55.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.37%. Analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,365,992,000 after buying an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,053,055,000 after buying an additional 8,896,890 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after buying an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $95,400,000 after buying an additional 1,766,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $203,459,000 after buying an additional 1,337,728 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.