Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Occidental Petroleum Call Options (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 138,539 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 71% compared to the average volume of 80,978 call options.

Trending Headlines about Occidental Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded OXY from “hold” to “strong-buy,” a clear vote that can attract momentum traders and institutional buyers. Zacks upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Price-target lift: American Banking News published a raised price target to $74, which supports upside expectations among investors pricing in stronger forward returns. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target Raised to $74.00
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum coverage: recent pieces (Zacks/Yahoo) are highlighting OXY as a momentum buy, reinforcing short-term inflows from trend-following funds. Here’s Why Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is a Great Momentum Stock to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Macro tailwinds: rising crude prices and rising geopolitical tensions have lifted energy peers and helped OXY trade higher as investors rotate into higher-performing oil names. What’s Going On With Occidental Petroleum Stock Thursday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition: CEO Vicki Hollub is retiring and Richard Jackson is named CEO. Management is refocusing on carbon management and balance-sheet transformation (post-OxyChem sale). Strategically positive but introduces short‑term execution and governance uncertainty. Occidental Petroleum CEO Shift Puts Carbon Management And Debt In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains cautious: an American Banking News summary shows an average analyst rating of “Hold,” which can cap near-term upside despite isolated price-target raises and upgrades. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Occidental Petroleum from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carrera Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 44,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $573,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $62.94 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $34.78 and a one year high of $67.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $62.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09 and a beta of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.23.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its 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 net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 64.60%.

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.