Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Given “Overweight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $71.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

OXY has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE OXY opened at $51.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.44. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $45.17 and a 12 month high of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

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