Kessler Investment Group LLC Purchases 122,376 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Kessler Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 9,790.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,626 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 122,376 shares during the period. Occidental Petroleum comprises 3.0% of Kessler Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Kessler Investment Group LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $6,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on OXY shares. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup increased 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. TD Cowen cut Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.38.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $42.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.01. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $64.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.21 and a 200-day moving average of $45.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

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.

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