Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also commented on OXY. Mizuho cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $50.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Occidental Petroleum has a 52-week low of $45.17 and a 52-week high of $71.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 385,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $24,291,000 after buying an additional 74,750 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 64.0% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 100,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,338,000 after purchasing an additional 39,230 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 17,375 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 9,379.4% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 424,962 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,785,000 after purchasing an additional 420,479 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 169,459 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,681,000 after purchasing an additional 23,456 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.