Occidental Petroleum Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 117,937 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 53% compared to the average volume of 77,112 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $69.25 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $55.12 and a 52-week high of $69.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.90.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 22.51%.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.