Occidental Petroleum Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 138,539 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 71% compared to the average daily volume of 80,978 call options.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE OXY opened at $62.94 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $34.78 and a 12 month high of $67.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.23. The stock has a market cap of $62.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Capital One Financial upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.83.

Occidental Petroleum News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded OXY from “hold” to “strong-buy,” a clear vote that can attract momentum traders and institutional buyers. Zacks upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Price-target lift: American Banking News published a raised price target to $74, which supports upside expectations among investors pricing in stronger forward returns. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target Raised to $74.00
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum coverage: recent pieces (Zacks/Yahoo) are highlighting OXY as a momentum buy, reinforcing short-term inflows from trend-following funds. Here’s Why Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is a Great Momentum Stock to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Macro tailwinds: rising crude prices and rising geopolitical tensions have lifted energy peers and helped OXY trade higher as investors rotate into higher-performing oil names. What’s Going On With Occidental Petroleum Stock Thursday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition: CEO Vicki Hollub is retiring and Richard Jackson is named CEO. Management is refocusing on carbon management and balance-sheet transformation (post-OxyChem sale). Strategically positive but introduces short?term execution and governance uncertainty. Occidental Petroleum CEO Shift Puts Carbon Management And Debt In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains cautious: an American Banking News summary shows an average analyst rating of “Hold,” which can cap near-term upside despite isolated price-target raises and upgrades. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. PeakShares LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $178,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $233,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.