Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.55 Million Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,756 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 978 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $2,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 156,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,139,000 after buying an additional 12,349 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,665,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,758,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1,279.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 231,899 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,847,000 after purchasing an additional 215,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on OXY. HSBC began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday. Barclays assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.98. The company had a trading volume of 4,846,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,633,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $55.12 and a one year high of $71.11. The firm has a market cap of $62.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.03.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.51%.

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.