Cove Street Capital LLC Sells 7,624 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Key Points

• Cove Street Capital LLC reduced its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 36.4%, selling 7,624 shares and holding a total of 13,345 shares worth $659,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• Occidental Petroleum reported earnings per share of $0.39 in its latest quarterly results, surpassing estimates, but showed a 6.1% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24, set to be paid on October 15, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%.

Cove Street Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 36.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,345 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 7,624 shares during the quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 835,657 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $41,248,000 after purchasing an additional 40,310 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $385,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 172.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 773,679 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $38,181,000 after purchasing an additional 489,767 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,703 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,835,000 after purchasing an additional 25,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,692,649 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $132,909,000 after purchasing an additional 319,430 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday, August 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.65.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE OXY traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.89. The company had a trading volume of 9,835,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,049,555. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.78 and a 52 week high of $56.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.79%.The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.80%.

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.