Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 4.3% on Strong Earnings

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was up 4.3% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $41.27 and last traded at $40.67. Approximately 7,424,589 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 10,969,753 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.01.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. Scotiabank cut Occidental Petroleum from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.19.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 4.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.39. The stock has a market cap of $38.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.81.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.

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