Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Traynor Capital Management Inc.

Traynor Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,748 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 941 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 156,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,139,000 after acquiring an additional 12,349 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,665,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,758,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,391,000. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 123,287 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,999,000 after buying an additional 61,705 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Eight equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.20.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.99. 7,159,609 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,885,965. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.63. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $67.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.