Occidental Stock Gets an Upgrade. 4 Reasons Goldman Loves It.

Signage Occidental Petroleum’s headquarters in Carlsbad, New Mexico. (Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta upgraded Occidental Petroleum to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target to $69 from $63.
• Mehta cited Occidental’s oil recovery capabilities, debt reduction plan, and an initiative targeting $4 billion in extra cash flow by 2030.
• The upgrade comes as oil prices rise amid investor frustration over a lack of progress in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

The surge in oil prices has boosted plenty of energy stocks—and Occidental Petroleum looks like a winner, according to Goldman Sachs.

Analyst Neil Mehta upgraded Occidental to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target to $69 from $63 late Wednesday. That implies shares can rally about 25%.

Mehta cited Occidental’s oil recovery capabilities, debt reduction plan, and an initiative targeting $4 billion in extra cash flow by 2030.

He also noted that the stock looks cheap—shares fetch just 9-times expected earnings for 2026.

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The stock, already up 35% in 2026, was rising on Thursday. It climbed 1.1% to $55.93 ahead of the opening bell.

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Occidental PetroleumSource: FactSetAs of Sept. 30, 4 p.m. ET

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1May 2026Sept.45.047.550.052.555.057.560.062.5$65.0

Barron’s has previously described Occidental as an attractive fixer-upper, arguing that “problem” energy stocks tend to benefit the most when oil prices are higher for longer.

The oil producer faces several issues, including some poorly-timed deals that added to its debt pile. But new CEO Richard Jackson is focused on deleveraging and boosting margins.

Mehta praised Occidental’s “incremental focus on capital
efficiency and deleveraging under the new CEO” in his research note.

The upgrade comes at a time when oil prices have been rising, with investors frustrated by a lack of progress in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. Brent international crude futures climbed 2.1% to $100.08 a barrel in early trading on Thursday.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

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