Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.31.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE OXY opened at $54.78 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.17 and its 200-day moving average is $60.67. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $49.75 and a one year high of $71.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $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.