Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 15.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319,430 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $15,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on OXY. TD Cowen lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $42.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.51. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $64.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.87.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 11.20%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

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