Occidental Petroleum Corporation Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (OXY)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B . Among the primary strengths of the company is its revenue growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• OXY's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 4.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.3%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past year. However, we anticipate this trend reversing over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP reported lower earnings of $5.71 versus $8.15 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($7.52 versus $5.71).
• The share price of OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP has not done very well: it is down 15.91% and has underperformed the S&P 500, in part reflecting the company's sharply declining earnings per share when compared to the year-earlier quarter. Looking ahead, although the push and pull of the overall market trend could certainly make a critical difference, we do not see any strong reason stemming from the company's fundamentals that would cause a continuation of last year's decline. In fact, the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 79.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $1,634.00 million to $336.00 million.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Oil and Gas; Chemical; and Midstream, Marketing, and Other. Occidental has a market cap of $70.43 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 15.2, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 13.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full Occidental Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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