Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Buys 6,494 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,801 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,494 shares during the quarter. Occidental Petroleum accounts for about 0.9% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $5,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $45.78. 4,257,233 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,833,441. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.84. 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 1 year low of $34.79 and a 1 year high of $64.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 39.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on OXY. Scotiabank cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.38.

Occidental Petroleum 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.