Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $67.18.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

OXY stock opened at $54.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $49.75 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.52.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 27,318 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 16,793 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 994,528 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $59,383,000 after buying an additional 96,593 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 82,869 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,948,000 after acquiring an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1,467.4% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 100,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,003,000 after acquiring an additional 94,119 shares during the period. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,191 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.