Brokerages Set Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Target Price at $71.50

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

A number of analysts have commented on OXY shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock traded down $0.89 on Thursday, reaching $53.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,121,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,391,105. The company has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $59.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.99. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $53.60 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 765,899 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.28 per share, with a total value of $46,168,391.72. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 252,333,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,210,688,275.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 4,132,407 shares of company stock worth $247,334,713. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $44,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.