Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

OXY has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.41. The company had a trading volume of 7,596,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,853,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.81 and a 200-day moving average of $62.14. The company has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.61. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $55.04 and a 12-month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 15.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 524,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $31,329,315.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 248,542,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,850,412,463. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders acquired 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.