In the latest market close, Occidental Petroleum (OXY) reached $49.36, with a +1.09% movement compared to the previous day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.55% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.01%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.14%.
Heading into today, shares of the oil and gas exploration and production company had lost 0.02% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 1.64% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 6.22% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Occidental Petroleum in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Occidental Petroleum is projected to report earnings of $0.74 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13.85%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.04 billion, showing a 17.13% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.17 per share and a revenue of $29.22 billion, representing changes of -8.38% and +8.72%, respectively, from the prior year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Occidental Petroleum. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 7.78% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, Occidental Petroleum boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Occidental Petroleum currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.4. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.35, which means Occidental Petroleum is trading at a premium to the group.
The Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 133, positioning it in the bottom 48% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
