Castleark Management LLC Buys Shares of 52,585 Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Key Points

• Castleark Management initiated a position in Occidental Petroleum, purchasing 52,585 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million. Institutional investors collectively own 88.7% of OXY.
• Occidental reported strong quarterly results, with adjusted earnings of $2.40 per share and revenue of $8.06 billion, beating estimates and increasing 53.4% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $64.83.

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 52,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,084,356 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,589,000 after buying an additional 124,879 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 577,368 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $23,741,000 after acquiring an additional 27,030 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,168,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $140,947,000 after acquiring an additional 145,100 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,685,169 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $109,536,000 after acquiring an additional 66,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 290.0% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 61,392 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 45,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $58.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $54.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.84. The company has a market cap of $58.67 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.15. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $38.80 and a twelve month high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Occidental Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 53.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on OXY. Mizuho lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.83.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard A. Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares in the company, valued at $23,261,853.24. The trade was a 1.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental's operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

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