Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 14.9%, selling 43,116 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 246,085 shares valued at approximately $12.1 million.
• Occidental Petroleum recently reported $0.39 earnings per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.38, with a quarterly revenue of $6.41 billion, which was above analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend, set to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 2.0% with a dividend payout ratio of 56.80%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 246,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 43,116 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $12,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $714,000. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $2,613,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.4% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,691 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $2,141,000. Finally, Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 522.8% during the first quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 26,209 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22,001 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.65.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $47.65. The stock had a trading volume of 5,793,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,574,829. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $44.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.01. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $57.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.80%.

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.