Scharf Investments LLC Buys 502,406 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Scharf Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,963,439 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 502,406 shares during the period. Occidental Petroleum comprises 4.5% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned 0.32% of Occidental Petroleum worth $146,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,631 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 57,934 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,863,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,460,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,625,560. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $41.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.87. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.79 and a 12 month high of $64.76.

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

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 2.26%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OXY. 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.14.

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.