Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shot up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $52.40 and last traded at $52.19. 1,825,874 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 9,114,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America started 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 on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.46. The company has a market cap of $45.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.57. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 37,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 277,430 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,299,000 after acquiring an additional 61,000 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 4,133 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.