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

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 214,235 call options on the company. This is an increase of 144% compared to the typical volume of 87,773 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 107.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 349,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $22,718,000 after purchasing an additional 180,838 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 968,178 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,443,000 after purchasing an additional 141,430 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 777,541 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,532,000 after purchasing an additional 139,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $586,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.12. The stock had a trading volume of 24,142,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,334,393. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.72. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $48.42 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $46.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.58.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.