BMO Capital Markets Cuts Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $65.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a neutral rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $67.18.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE OXY opened at $55.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.08 and its 200-day moving average is $60.58. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $49.75 and a one year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,552,271,000 after buying an additional 19,586,612 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $233,687,000 after purchasing an additional 532,318 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,661,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,707,000 after purchasing an additional 277,462 shares during the period. Himalaya Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $92,433,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,450,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $91,398,000 after purchasing an additional 503,173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.