Barclays Begins Coverage on Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $73.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer's stock.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $70.47.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE OXY traded up $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.93. The stock had a trading volume of 8,130,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,727,123. The company has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $69.58.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $232,000. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $229,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 15,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. New Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $592,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.