The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $41.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $43.00 to $41.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.57.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of OXY stock opened at $44.13 on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $34.78 and a 1 year high of $52.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

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

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1.5% in 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 during the period. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $289,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.