Shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) are little changed in after-hours trading after the oil company reported earnings for its first quarter of Fiscal Year 2024. Earnings per share came in at $0.63, which beat analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.58 per share. However, sales decreased by 17.6% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $5.98 billion. This missed analysts’ expectations of $6.784 billion.
Revenue fell despite higher average oil prices, as they weren’t enough to overcome the decline in gas prices. In fact, natural gas liquids averaged $22.14/BBL versus $24.41/BBL in Q1 2023. Still, the most drastic fall came from domestic gas, which cratered from $3.01/MCF to $1.61/MCF.
The firm also came close to its mid-point production guidance, as it produced 1,172 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboed). This was despite the impact of an extended third-party outage in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Is OXY a Buy or Sell Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on OXY stock based on seven Buys, 11 Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12% rally in its share price over the past year, the average OXY price target of $71.94 per share implies 10.46% upside potential. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
