New York, January 24, 2026, 06:01 (EST) — Market closed.
- Occidental shares closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a strong rebound in crude prices.
- Winter storms in the U.S. and new sanctions tied to Iran pushed supply risks higher.
- Coming next: U.S. inventory figures and Occidental’s earnings report for February.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation shares closed Friday 2.2% higher at $44.10, trading roughly 11.4 million shares. The stock remains far from its 52-week peak. (Oxy)
U.S. equities are closed for the weekend, leaving Monday’s key question: will crude oil maintain Friday’s gains and pull energy stocks higher? Occidental often tracks oil closely—sometimes even more than its peers—which keeps it a favorite among traders when the commodity shifts.
Oil prices took the lead Friday. Brent climbed 2.8% to close at $65.88 a barrel, while U.S. WTI jumped 2.9% to $61.07. The gains came as Washington ramped up pressure on Iran, and supply disruptions in Kazakhstan kept markets on edge. (Reuters)
Supply jitters also surged domestically. Winter storm Fern was forecast to sweep across much of the U.S. through Monday, prompting some producers to halt output. Energy Aspects pegged crude outages at roughly 300,000 barrels a day, with up to 200,000 bpd coming from the Permian Basin. Veteran oil analyst Tom Kloza warned of “the potential for a surge in distillate demand” — meaning diesel and heating oil — as the cold snap hits. (Reuters)
The longer-term message from U.S. drillers stays subdued. Energy companies added a single oil and gas rig this week, bringing the total to 544, according to Baker Hughes. That figure remains 5.6% below last year’s level. (Reuters)
As earnings season nears, analysts are adjusting their outlooks. Morgan Stanley’s Devin McDermott lowered his price target on Occidental to $50 from $51, maintaining an Equal Weight rating, according to TipRanks’ The Fly. He anticipates “fairly clean” Q4 operational results but expects cash flow to be lighter due to “price realizations,” the net prices producers get after transport and quality adjustments. (TipRanks)
Occidental plans to release its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings after the market closes on Feb. 18, followed by a conference call on Feb. 19, the company announced earlier this month. (Oxy)
Occidental stood out Friday, beating several major U.S. oil stocks. Chevron barely moved, while EOG Resources and Devon Energy each rose about 2%. The wider U.S. indexes finished with a mixed bag. (MarketWatch)
Next week, the spotlight shifts away from corporate news to the tape itself: storm-driven outages, the trajectory of crude prices, and if U.S. inventory figures point to a tighter supply. The Energy Information Administration usually drops its weekly petroleum status report just after 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Wednesdays. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
That said, the situation works both ways. Should the storm’s hit to production turn out short-lived, or if demand worries push oil prices down, Occidental’s recent rally could reverse just as fast.
