Cullen Investment Group LTD. Takes $1.01 Million Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OXY. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $68.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.05. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on OXY shares. Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.06.

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.