Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Lifted to Strong-Buy by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Occidental Petroleum to “strong-buy” from “buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with 11 Buy ratings and 16 Hold ratings and an average target price of $65.54.
• Occidental reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.40 in EPS versus the $1.83 consensus estimate and $8.06 billion in revenue, up 53.4% year over year.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 88.70%, highlighted by Berkshire Hathaway’s new $12.87 billion stake and additional purchases by several major institutions.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on OXY. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore raised Occidental Petroleum from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "hold" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.54.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $60.09 on Friday. 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 market cap of $60.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.33. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $38.80 and a 1-year high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.57. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Occidental Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 53.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.20 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $12,868,205,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1,329.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 59,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 55,546 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,041,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,168,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $140,947,000 after purchasing an additional 145,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,685,169 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $109,536,000 after buying an additional 66,438 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, commonly known as Oxy, is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations are concentrated in the United States, including the Permian and Denver-Julesburg basins, and in selected international regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The company also operates midstream and marketing businesses that support the gathering, processing, transportation and sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.