Occidental Petroleum Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:OXY)

Key Points

• Occidental Petroleum experienced a significant rise in call options trading volume, with 168,342 call options bought, marking an increase of approximately 189% compared to the average volume.
• Institutional investors hold 88.70% of Occidental Petroleum's stock, with several firms recently increasing their positions in the company.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which will be paid out on October 15th, representing a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 168,342 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 189% compared to the average volume of 58,265 call options.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 58,549 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 5,306 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,326 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,437 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Melius started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.95.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 7.1%

NYSE OXY opened at $44.32 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $34.78 and a one year high of $56.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 56.80%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.