Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 3.4%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares dropped 3.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $65.64 and last traded at $66.05. Approximately 4,574,586 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 8,728,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. StockNews.com raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $59.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The business had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sendero Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 50.5% in the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,688 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 3,585 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $274,000. S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.0% during the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 32.2% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,410 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.