Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $52.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.14% from the company’s current price.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.90.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $50.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.41.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 2,477,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 50,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $494,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,437,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 395.8% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 25,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 20,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.