Argus Upgrades Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) to “Hold”

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was upgraded by Argus to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on OXY. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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, Mizuho increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.62.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:OXY opened at $53.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.41. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $34.78 and a 52-week high of $53.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $44.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.14%.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 earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, Director William R. Klesse bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were acquired 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. City Holding Co. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.