Why Occidental Stock Popped Today

Shares of Occidental (NYSE: OXY) rallied on Thursday, as investors applauded the oil and gas producer's fourth-quarter earnings report.

By the close of trading, Occidental's stock price was up more than 9%.

Bolstering the balance sheet

Occidental completed the sale of its chemical manufacturing business, OxyChem, on Jan. 2. The proceeds enabled the energy supplier to pay down its debt by $5.8 billion since mid-December.

Occidental is also using its newfound financial flexibility to increase its cash returns to shareholders. The company boosted its quarterly dividend by 8% to $0.26 per share. The dividend is payable on April 15 to shareholders of record as of March 10.

Bountiful cash flow generation

The energy provider produced an average of 1,481 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter, driven by the strong performance of its Permian and Rockies operations.

Despite a decline in realized crude oil and natural gas prices, Occidental continued to crank out cash. Its operating and free cash flow came in at $2.6 billion and $1 billion, respectively.

"Our emphasis on operational excellence and cost efficiency drove meaningful production and operating expense outperformance during the fourth quarter," CEO Vicki Hollub said.

Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Occidental Petroleum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.