Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded by Mizuho to Outperform Rating

Key Points

• Mizuho upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" to an "outperform" rating, setting a price target of $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.39% from the current price.
• Other brokerages like HSBC and Scotiabank have also upgraded their ratings, with HSBC moving from "hold" to "buy" and raising the target price from $48.00 to $55.00.
• Despite the upgrades, Occidental Petroleum shares opened at $44.32 and have experienced a 7.1% decline recently.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Mizuho from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $60.00 price target on the oil and gas producer's stock. Mizuho's price objective suggests a potential upside of 35.39% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on OXY. HSBC upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Melius Research started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.09.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 7.1%

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $44.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business's 50 day moving average price is $45.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.84. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $34.78 and a fifty-two week high of $56.49. The company has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.79%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 6,237.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 336,438 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $16,607,000 after acquiring an additional 331,129 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 53.5% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,254 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 11,970 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 5,395 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 21,051 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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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