Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $49.00 to $42.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 5.40% from the company's previous close.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.85. 10,973,650 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,854,099. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.32. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $34.79 and a 1 year high of $68.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.02.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. Analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,199,000. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $30,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,461 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,942,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.