HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 598,997 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) by 32%, owning approximately 2.47 million shares valued at $122 million after buying an additional 599,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Occidental Petroleum's recent quarterly earnings report showed a net margin of 8.79% and revenues of $6.41 billion, although this represents a 6.1% year-over-year decline.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.2% with a payout ratio of 56.80%.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 32.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,472,865 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 598,997 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.25% of Occidental Petroleum worth $122,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 615.2% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OXY. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:OXY traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.61. The company had a trading volume of 8,755,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,930,384. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.19. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $34.78 and a one year high of $58.47.

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

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 56.80%.

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.