Brokerages Set Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Target Price at $60.45

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.82.

OXY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE OXY opened at $48.84 on Monday. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $44.70 and a fifty-two week high of $71.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.87. 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 (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,160 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $685,000. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $874,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,508 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after buying an additional 4,174 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.