Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Occidental Petroleum has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a negative outlook on the stock's performance.
• Recent target price revisions from various brokerages reflect a bearish sentiment, with Stephens and Susquehanna lowering their price targets to $58.00 and $55.00 respectively.
• Despite the downgrade, Occidental Petroleum reported a slight earnings beat in its last quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.39 compared to a consensus estimate of $0.38.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.71.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY traded down $0.58 on Friday, reaching $43.74. The stock had a trading volume of 8,897,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,116,880. The company has a market capitalization of $43.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.94 and a 200-day moving average of $44.29. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $34.78 and a fifty-two week high of $59.11.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum 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 Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.