Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.62.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $53.04 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $34.78 and a 12 month high of $53.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.92. The company has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.The business’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 57,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 16,506 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,972 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 40,892 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,193.9% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 152,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,387,000 after acquiring an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Occidental Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals improving — recent coverage highlights Occidental’s substantial debt reduction and stronger free cash flow driven by its midstream and marketing segments, supporting credit metrics and dividend/repayment capacity. Occidental Petroleum: Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-tender announced — Occidental launched a large cash tender for multiple series of senior notes and debentures in February; buying back debt can lower interest expense, simplify the capital structure and improve leverage metrics if funded prudently, which investors view as balance-sheet positive. Occidental Debt Tender Puts Balance Sheet And Valuation In Spotlight
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage momentum — recent street coverage includes upgrades/positive notes (Wall Street Zen upgrade) that can support demand for the shares as sentiment improves. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwinds cited — energy-focused roundups recommend energy names as commodity prices rise, which is a positive backdrop for OXY but not company-specific enough to drive a major re-rating on its own. 2 No-Brainer Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor rating move — Argus moved the stock to “hold” in a recent note; an upgrade to hold is a mild signal but not a strong buy catalyst. Read More
• Negative Sentiment: Berkshire write-down — Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a multibillion-dollar write-down tied in part to its Occidental stake (reported alongside Berkshire’s quarterly results and new CEO letter), which can be interpreted as a valuation haircut by a large investor and may weigh on sentiment. Warren Buffett’s successor Greg Abel publishes his first letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders Berkshire Hathaway profit falls on lower insurance income, Occidental writedown

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.