Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 1.7%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares shot up 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $57.06 and last traded at $57.06. 3,527,331 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 8,223,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on OXY shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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 reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.69.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 1.61.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,386,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $82,752,981.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,583,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,952,323,710.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 175 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.