Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $51.84 and last traded at $51.76. 2,143,220 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 9,104,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.72.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.46. The company has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,527,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,410 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.