Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Occidental Petroleum Call Options (NYSE:OXY)

Key Points

• Investors bought 55,408 Occidental Petroleum call options on Wednesday, about 30% above the stock’s typical daily call-option volume.
• OXY shares fell 5.8% to $56.91. Despite several recent analyst upgrades and price-target increases, the consensus rating remained “Hold,” with an average target of $67.88.
• Occidental beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.40 EPS and $8.06 billion in revenue; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 55,408 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 30% compared to the typical daily volume of 42,619 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Evercore raised Occidental Petroleum from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.88.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NYSE OXY traded down $3.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.91. The company had a trading volume of 6,334,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,858,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $56.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.08. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $38.80 and a 12-month high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $588,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 108.1% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 65,199 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,863 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 19.4% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 68,809 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,820,000 after acquiring an additional 11,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,422 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,923 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an energy company engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development and production. Its operations are focused primarily on the United States, including the Permian and DJ basins, as well as selected international regions in the Middle East and North Africa.

The company's OxyChem subsidiary manufactures and markets chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyls and other chemical products used in water treatment, construction, healthcare, packaging and industrial applications.

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