Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street maintains a “Hold” consensus on Occidental Petroleum, with 17 of 27 analysts rating the stock a hold and 10 recommending a buy. The average 12-month price target is $65.17.
• Occidental reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, earning $2.40 per share versus the $1.83 consensus estimate and generating $8.06 billion in revenue, up 53.4% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share from $0.26, equivalent to an annualized $1.12 dividend and an approximately 1.9% yield.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.17.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.1%

OXY opened at $58.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $57.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.16. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $38.80 and a 12 month high of $67.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.30.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 28.36%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 17.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 12.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,765 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Athena Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,547 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 107,695 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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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