Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.63 and last traded at $50.50. Approximately 2,245,638 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 9,361,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.25.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 904,081 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,757,000 after buying an additional 8,863 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 16.1% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,535,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,809,000 after acquiring an additional 44,736 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.