Susquehanna Cuts Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $78.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price target trimmed by Susquehanna from $81.00 to $78.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a positive rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

OXY has been the topic of several other research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an outperform rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.50.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $52.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.04. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $51.79 and a one year high of $71.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 584,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.26 per share, for a total transaction of $35,224,983.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 251,168,155 shares in the company, valued at $15,135,393,020.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 2,745,563 shares of company stock worth $164,581,732. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 88.70% of the stock is 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.