Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 76,924 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 34% compared to the average volume of 57,390 call options.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 9.5%

OXY opened at $51.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.57. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $34.78 and a 12 month high of $52.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 9.14%.The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.48.

Key Occidental Petroleum News

Here are the key news stories impacting Occidental Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and production outperformance — Occidental reported adjusted EPS above consensus and production that topped guidance, supporting the thesis of operational resilience and helping drive investor optimism. OXY Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder-friendly moves — Board approved an ~8% quarterly dividend increase to $0.26 and management signaled lower 2026 capex (implying higher free cash flow if commodity prices cooperate), both of which support near-term investor sentiment. OXY Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Material debt reduction and active liability management — Company highlighted ~$5.8B of debt paydown since mid‑December and launched cash tender offers/consent solicitations for certain senior notes, lowering leverage risk and improving the balance sheet story. Occidental Announces Cash Tender Offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and volume activity — Unusual call buying (large intraday spike in call volume) and elevated share volume signal speculative/short‑term bullish positioning; this can amplify moves but also increase volatility. (internal trading note)
• Neutral Sentiment: Cash-flow and capex detail — Management reported solid operating cash flow (~$2.6B) with materially lower capex versus prior year plans, which can be positive if commodity prices cooperate but depends on realized oil prices. QuiverQuant: Q4 results and 2026 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and weaker profit trends — Some reports show revenue below consensus and notable year‑over‑year declines in profit metrics, highlighting sensitivity to lower crude prices and tempering the upside from the EPS beat. Occidental Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and near-term commodity risk — Some firms have trimmed price targets amid concerns about near‑term oil oversupply and mixed fundamentals, which could cap upside if oil weakens further. Susquehanna lowers OXY price target

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, Director William R. Klesse bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.98 per share, with a total value of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 218,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. City Holding Co. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors 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.