Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Occidental Petroleum Call Options (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 214,235 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 144% compared to the average volume of 87,773 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% during the first 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 last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,088 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,519 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,592 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.9% during the second quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,847 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.30.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $0.83 on Wednesday, reaching $51.12. 24,142,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,334,393. The firm has a market cap of $46.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.58. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $48.42 and a 1-year high of $71.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.97 and a 200-day moving average of $57.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

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.

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