USS Investment Management Ltd Makes New $2.19 Million Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

USS Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 44,404 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,194,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of OXY. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,517 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $248,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.14.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE OXY traded down $0.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,497,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,203,778. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $64.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business's 50-day moving average price is $41.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.50. The company has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.81.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during 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%. Occidental Petroleum's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

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.