Occidental Petroleum Faces Challenges Amidst Strong Market Position
Based in Houston, Texas, Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) specializes in acquiring, exploring, and developing oil and gas properties. With a market capitalization of $45.1 billion, the company also produces and sells a range of basic chemicals, vinyls, and specialty chemicals.
Large-Cap Stock with Significant Resources
As a large-cap stock, OXY’s market cap exceeds $10 billion, highlighting its prominence and influence in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) sector. The company boasts extensive reserves, holding 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in proved reserves, alongside a daily production of 1,234 thousand barrels of oil equivalent, solidifying its competitive stance in the energy market.
Recent Performance Trends
In recent months, OXY’s stock has faced challenges, declining 31.9% from its 52-week high of $71.19, reached on April 12. Over the last three months, the stock price has fallen by 4.3%, underperforming the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP), which gained 9% in the same period.
Looking at the longer term, OXY shares have decreased by 18.8% year-to-date (YTD) and 15.1% over the past year, trailing behind XOP’s 1% YTD gain and 4.5% returns over the same period.
Struggles Below Moving Averages
OXY’s stock has been trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since mid-July, indicating a bearish trend amid slight fluctuations.
Recent Financial Results and Market Position
Factors contributing to OXY’s performance decline include its recent acquisition of CrownRock and falling oil prices. To manage its debt, the company has begun selling off non-essential assets, including its stake in Western Midstream. On November 12, OXY reported its third-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1, surpassing Wall Street expectations of $0.80. However, the company’s revenue of $7.2 billion fell short of the forecasted $7.4 billion.
Competition and Future Outlook
In the competitive oil and gas E&P landscape, Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG) has outperformed OXY, recording a 5.7% increase YTD and 9.6% gains over the past 52 weeks. Despite these challenges, Wall Street analysts remain moderately optimistic about OXY’s future, giving it a “Moderate Buy” rating based on coverage from 24 analysts. The average price target of $61.56 suggests a potential upside of 27% from current levels.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. All information provided here is solely for informational purposes. For additional details, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Nasdaq, Inc.
