Analysts Set Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) PT at $53.38

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.38.

OXY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $43.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.36. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $64.76. The company has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other 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.