Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Given New $58.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Argus raised Occidental Petroleum to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. HSBC raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.91.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $57.98 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $57.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01 and a beta of 0.23. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $37.40 and a 12-month high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 64.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. PeakShares LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $233,000. 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.