Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) fell 1% on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $59.00 to $58.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as low as $50.27 and last traded at $50.41. 1,640,223 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 9,354,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.91.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.65.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.29.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.92%.

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.