Candriam S.C.A. Buys 11,187 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 11,187 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $3,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. William Mack & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.88.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY stock opened at $56.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.80 and a 52-week high of $67.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.42. The company has a market capitalization of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.16.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 32.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Key Occidental Petroleum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: OXY earned $1.91 per share, beating analyst estimates of $1.46, while revenue increased 20.6% year over year to $6.77 billion. The profit beat was supported by operational strength and production that held up despite lower crude prices. Reuters report
• Positive Sentiment: Occidental reported $4.1 billion in third-quarter cash flow and reduced debt to $10 billion. Continued debt paydown could strengthen the balance sheet and improve financial flexibility. Debt and cash flow report
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term agreements will secure third-party-captured CO? for enhanced oil recovery in the Permian. The developers will fund and build the capture and delivery infrastructure, supporting Occidental’s operations without requiring it to build those facilities itself. CO? agreements announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $6.77 billion was slightly below the $6.82 billion estimate cited in one report, and weaker crude prices remain a headwind. These factors temper the otherwise strong earnings result. Q3 revenue report

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an energy and chemicals company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its oil and gas business explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, with operations in the United States and international markets, including the Middle East and North Africa. Through its OxyChem business, Occidental manufactures and markets basic chemicals and vinyl products used in applications such as water treatment, construction and consumer goods. The company also develops carbon management and lower-carbon technology projects, including carbon capture and storage.