Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Occidental stock gapped down pre-market after Citigroup cut its price target from $67 to $62 while keeping a neutral rating; the shares opened at $53.66 (prior close $56.87) and last traded near $52.72 on about 4.07 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — MarketBeat reports an average rating of Hold and an average target of $61.04, but several firms have recently both raised targets and issued upgrades, highlighting persistent disagreement on OXY's valuation and outlook.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $62.00. The stock had previously closed at $56.87, but opened at $53.66. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum shares last traded at $52.7170, with a volume of 4,073,835 shares changing hands.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.04.

Key Occidental Petroleum News

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. officials met oil executives and pushed for more drilling to stabilize prices, which helped lift momentum and sentiment metrics for major producers, including OXY — a near-term tailwind for revenues and cash flow. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and Yahoo Finance pieces argue OXY may be undervalued based on earnings-estimate trends and value metrics, supporting a longer‑term buy case if earnings revisions continue to improve. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Roth MKM raised its price target to $55 from $45 but kept a "neutral" rating — the PT increase signals modest analyst optimism while the neutral stance limits conviction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure: Capital One trimmed its price target (to $67) and at least one downgrade coincided with a near-term share pullback, highlighting persistent analyst disagreement on upside and valuation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation caution: coverage pieces note OXY’s strong YTD performance and ties to Berkshire Hathaway, but also warn of a higher forward earnings multiple — investors should weigh geopolitical-driven gains against a potentially elevated valuation. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.96. The company has a market cap of $52.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.90 and a beta of 0.23.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. Occidental Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 64.60%.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental's operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.