Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 5.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Occidental Petroleum shares rose 5.5% after Evercore upgraded the stock to Outperform from in-line and set a $65 price target. The move came with the stock trading as high as $54.55.
• Analysts broadly remain cautious overall: the company has 10 Buy ratings and 16 Hold ratings, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $64.48.
• Recent company updates also included a CEO share purchase of 4,770 shares at $52.38 and the announcement of a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, payable July 15.

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) traded up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore upgraded the stock from an in-line rating to an outperform rating. Evercore now has a $65.00 price target on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as high as $54.55 and last traded at $54.5390. 8,239,809 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 13,970,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.68.

OXY has been the subject of several other reports. Capital One Financial increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. HSBC raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.48.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, CEO Richard A. Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,261,853.24. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI double-upgraded Occidental Petroleum to Outperform from Underperform and lifted its price target to $65 from $58, saying the company should benefit from deleveraging, stronger cash flow, and improved capital efficiency. Occidental upgraded as Evercore sees deleveraging driving cash flow upside
• Positive Sentiment: Brent crude jumped on renewed Middle East supply concerns, which tends to boost Occidental’s earnings and free cash flow because the company is highly sensitive to oil prices. Why Is Occidental Petroleum Stock Surging on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Several market reports pointed to OXY as a beneficiary of both the analyst upgrade and the crude rally, reinforcing the move in the shares. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) Surges Nearly 4% on Analyst Upgrade and Crude Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target on Occidental, but the article did not indicate a major change in the broader bullish setup. Morgan Stanley Trims Price Target on Occidental Petroleum (OXY). Here is Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks articles said investors have recently been paying close attention to OXY and that the stock may be positioned to beat earnings estimates again, but these were more commentary than fresh catalysts. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.46. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 19.98%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.20%.

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.

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