The latest trading session saw Occidental Petroleum (OXY) ending at $63.79, denoting a -0.42% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.89%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.03%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.25%.

Coming into today, shares of the oil and gas exploration and production company had gained 7.56% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 5.25%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.56%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Occidental Petroleum in its forthcoming earnings report. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.63, marking a 42.2% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $6.72 billion, reflecting a 7.35% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.56 per share and a revenue of $30.1 billion, representing changes of -3.78% and +4.09%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Occidental Petroleum. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 10.65% decrease. Occidental Petroleum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Occidental Petroleum is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 18. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.27.

One should further note that OXY currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.1. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.1.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, placing it within the top 39% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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