The latest trading session saw Occidental Petroleum (OXY) ending at $49.81, denoting a +0.81% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.22%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.36%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.16%.

Heading into today, shares of the oil and gas exploration and production company had gained 1.04% over the past month, outpacing the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 7.5% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.36% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Occidental Petroleum in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.64, signifying a 13.51% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.13 billion, showing a 5.36% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Occidental Petroleum should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature 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.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 6.35% decrease. Occidental Petroleum currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Occidental Petroleum is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 15.28. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 13.84.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, positioning it in the top 18% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.