Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 1.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $58.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as low as $43.61 and last traded at $43.80. Approximately 2,554,861 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 12,437,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.39.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.48.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,053,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,896,890 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,230,989 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,960,202,000 after purchasing an additional 12,107,285 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,816,000 after purchasing an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 13,826,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $682,456,000 after purchasing an additional 249,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,128,136 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $401,162,000 after purchasing an additional 710,220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.69 and a 200-day moving average of $46.98. The firm has a market cap of $42.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.97 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

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.