Encore Global Management LP Makes New Investment in Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Key Points

• Encore Global Management LP initiated a 50,300-share position in Occidental Petroleum worth approximately $3.27 million, representing 2.3% of the fund’s portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 88.7% of OXY.
• Occidental reported quarterly EPS of $1.06, well above the $0.60 analyst consensus, although revenue fell 8.3% year over year to $5.11 billion. The company also maintains a $0.26 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.9% annually.
• OXY shares opened at $54.01, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $64.17. CEO Richard A. Jackson separately purchased 4,770 shares worth nearly $250,000.

Encore Global Management LP purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 50,300 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,270,000. Occidental Petroleum accounts for 2.3% of Encore Global Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,084,356 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,589,000 after purchasing an additional 124,879 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,900,677 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,696,716,000 after purchasing an additional 699,137 shares in the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 577,368 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $23,741,000 after buying an additional 27,030 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 120,385 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,950,000 after buying an additional 22,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,168,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $140,947,000 after buying an additional 145,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $54.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.58 and a 200-day moving average of $53.77. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $38.80 and a one year high of $67.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.46. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 19.98% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Occidental Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.20%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard A. Jackson bought 4,770 shares of the firm's 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,261,853.24. The trade was a 1.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on OXY. Zacks Research cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Capital One Financial upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.17.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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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