Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,242 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 8,103 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $14,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,210 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,335 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,714 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 8,356 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.14.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.1%

OXY traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $41.15. The company had a trading volume of 6,703,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,237,861. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $64.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.81.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The company's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

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.