Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Given New $50.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.84.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $44.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.66 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36. The company has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $52.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.16. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 218,913 shares in the company, valued at $8,533,228.74. This represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.8% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.