Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Stock Has Average Target Price of $65.17 According to Brokerages

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.17.

OXY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of OXY stock opened at $58.00 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.44 and a 200-day moving average of $57.30. The stock has a market cap of $57.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.16. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $67.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results 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. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 53.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,084,356 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,589,000 after purchasing an additional 124,879 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter worth $12,868,205,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,329.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 59,725 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 55,546 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,041,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,168,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $140,947,000 after buying an additional 145,100 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its operations are concentrated primarily in the United States, including the Permian and DJ basins, and it also has international activities in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The company operates through oil and gas, chemical and midstream and marketing businesses. Its chemical segment, OxyChem, manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products, vinyls and other basic chemicals used in water treatment, construction, industrial manufacturing and consumer products.