Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 3.4%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded down 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $65.64 and last traded at $66.05. 4,574,586 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 8,728,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.05 and its 200-day moving average is $61.09. The company has a market capitalization of $58.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 241.1% in the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 69,213 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,498,000 after purchasing an additional 48,920 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth $290,000. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 98,496 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,401,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Capital Management bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth $317,000. Finally, Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.0% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 9,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.