Sterling Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Sterling Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 11,683 shares during the quarter. Occidental Petroleum comprises 3.8% of Sterling Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $5,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 11,341 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 5,130 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 15,101 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 4,096 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,791 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 59,006 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 27,243 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of OXY stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,426,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,925,358. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $55.12 and a 52-week high of $71.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 1.64.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum's revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. Barclays started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.94.

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.