Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down pre-market from $62.94 to $57.17 and were trading around $58.31, off roughly 6.5% on heavy volume, indicating short‑term profit‑taking.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the market consensus is a "Hold" with a consensus price target of $59.74, even as several brokers have raised targets (e.g., Capital One $69, BMO $65) and institutional ownership sits near 88.7%.
• Fundamentals are uneven — Q results showed an EPS beat ($0.31 vs. $0.18) but a revenue miss, the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.26 (1.8% yield), while valuation is relatively high (P/E ~36.6) and some analysts warn the stock may be vulnerable after a large one‑year rally.

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $62.94, but opened at $57.17. Occidental Petroleum shares last traded at $58.3090, with a volume of 9,521,547 shares.

Occidental Petroleum News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO raised its price target to $65 from $60, signaling modest upside while keeping a "market perform" rating — a tailwind but not a full buy endorsement. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple momentum screens (Zacks lists, etc.) have OXY as a top momentum pick, which can attract short-term buying and algorithmic flows. Zacks: Best Momentum Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical-driven oil strength (coverage of the Iran conflict) has been a key fundamental driver supporting Occidental’s rally and prospects for higher near-term cash flow. Fool: Why OXY Rallied
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and industry write-ups note operational positives (Permian scale, CrownRock, debt paydown) but flag slower ROE and mixed fundamentals — a mixed read that tempers a clear buy case. Zacks: Outperforms Industry
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces question whether OXY has "run too far" after a large one‑year rally; elevated valuation metrics and recent profit-taking make the stock vulnerable to pullbacks. Yahoo: Has OXY Run Too Far?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OXY. Capital One Financial upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.74.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 6.5%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $58.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.23.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $273,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. PeakShares LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $178,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.

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