Goldman Sachs Upgrades Occidental Petroleum to Buy With $69 Target on Debt Reduction and Cash Flow Outlook

Goldman Sachs upgraded Occidental Petroleum to Buy from Neutral on October 1, raising its price target to $69 from $63, citing structural improvements in the company's capital efficiency and an ongoing deleveraging effort. Analyst Neil Mehta highlighted four factors driving the call: Occidental's oil recovery capabilities, its debt reduction plan, the potential for dividend growth, and the stock's cheap valuation relative to those prospects. Goldman also pointed to OXY's $4 billion cash flow improvement target by 2030 as a key milestone supporting the upgrade.

Alongside the rating change, Goldman Sachs added Occidental to its "Director's Cut" list of top U.S. stock picks, replacing ConocoPhillips among energy names on that roster. The bank also removed Air Products, Golar LNG, Loar Holdings, and Tyson Foods from the list while adding Amazon, Burlington Stores, Huntington Ingalls, and Johnson Controls. OXY shares rallied on the news.

Not all analysts share Goldman's enthusiasm. A Seeking Alpha analysis published the same day favored Suncor Energy over Occidental under a Ray Dalio-style all-weather portfolio framework, noting that Suncor derives more than 87% of its revenue outside the U.S., mostly from Canada, giving it geographic diversification that OXY's U.S.-centric profile lacks amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.