Occidental Petroleum shares soared close to 17% during February as global crude markets strengthened and the energy producer delivered outstanding fourth quarter financial results. The positive momentum extended into March, with shares gaining an additional 4% in the month’s opening days.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation, OXY
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.8% throughout February, finishing just above $67 per barrel — marking its strongest close since early August. Brent crude advanced 2.5%, settling near $72.50 per barrel.
The upward momentum stemmed primarily from escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Iran. These tensions intensified during early March following coordinated U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes on Persian Gulf oil tankers.
Following these events, WTI crude has rallied an additional 10% in March, breaking through $73 per barrel. Brent has experienced an even sharper climb of nearly 15%, surpassing $83 per barrel.
As a significant oil producer, OXY benefits substantially from crude price appreciation. Elevated prices translate directly into increased revenue for every barrel extracted.
Occidental delivered fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.31, substantially exceeding Wall Street’s consensus forecast of $0.17–$0.18. This impressive performance materialized despite softer oil prices throughout the reporting period.
Chief Executive Vicki Hollub attributed the results to rigorous operational execution. The company’s production reached approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil equivalent daily during the fourth quarter, surpassing the upper bound of internal projections. Exceptional results from Permian Basin and Rocky Mountain operations powered the outperformance.
Quarterly revenue totaled $5.11 billion, falling short of analyst projections of $6.02 billion. This represented a 5.2% year-over-year decline from the comparable period, when earnings per share reached $0.80.
Looking ahead to 2025, Wall Street analysts project annual earnings per share of $3.58.
The company enhanced its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share from the previous $0.24. The annualized distribution now totals $1.04, equating to approximately 1.9% yield. Shareholders of record on March 10 will receive payment on April 15.
Management outlined plans to reduce capital expenditures to $5.5–$5.9 billion for the current year — representing a $550 million midpoint reduction versus 2024. According to Occidental, these efficiencies should generate more than $1.2 billion in additional free cash flow at comparable oil prices to the previous year.
With current crude prices substantially elevated above that benchmark, actual free cash flow generation could exceed projections.
The company has maintained focus on debt reduction, announcing cash tender offers and consent solicitations covering multiple series of senior notes. Occidental expanded the aggregate purchase cap as part of these initiatives.
Board member William R. Klesse purchased 5,000 OXY shares on December 16 at $38.98 each, a $194,900 investment that increased his total position to 218,913 shares.
Regal Partners Ltd revealed a newly established position of 140,000 shares valued at approximately $6.62 million, making OXY the firm’s 29th largest holding at 0.5% of total portfolio assets.
UBS elevated its OXY price objective to $55 while Piper Sandler increased its target to $54, though both firms maintained neutral ratings. The consensus analyst rating stands at Hold, with an average price target of $51.24.
Shares opened Friday trading at $54.28, approaching the 52-week high of $56.34.
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