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

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 168,342 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 189% compared to the average volume of 58,265 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,193.9% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 371.7% during the second quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $44.86 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $34.78 and a fifty-two week high of $56.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.63 and a 200-day moving average of $43.82.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.80%.

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.