Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage of Occidental Petroleum with a “hold” rating and a $68 price target, implying 11.62% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly cautious: OXY has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $64.96, based on 10 buy ratings and 17 hold ratings.
• Occidental reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.40 versus the $1.83 consensus estimate and revenue of $8.06 billion, up 53.4% year over year.

Investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a "hold" rating and a $68.00 price target on the oil and gas producer's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target points to a potential upside of 11.62% from the company's previous close.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Capital One Financial upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.96.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $60.92. 1,100,120 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,441,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.78. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $38.80 and a fifty-two week high of $67.45. The stock has a market cap of $60.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.16.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 53.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard Jackson bought 4,770 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.38 per share, for a total transaction of $249,852.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,261,853.24. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $12,868,205,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 4,805.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,792,348 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,029,854,000 after purchasing an additional 40,940,366 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 84.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,643,916 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $516,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,882,834 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $172,413,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $168,860,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its operations are concentrated primarily in the United States, including the Permian and DJ basins, and it also has international activities in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The company operates through oil and gas, chemical and midstream and marketing businesses. Its chemical segment, OxyChem, manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products, vinyls and other basic chemicals used in water treatment, construction, industrial manufacturing and consumer products.

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