Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on OXY. Scotiabank raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday. They issued a hold rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:OXY traded up $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $69.28. 7,073,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,703,607. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $55.12 and a 52 week high of $69.58. The company has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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.