GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 6,237.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 336,438 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 331,129 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $16,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.8%

OXY stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.58. 6,847,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,308,404. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.87. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $64.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.14.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.