Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 2.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price was up 2.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $46.97. Approximately 3,809,104 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 11,152,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.50.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.29 and a 200 day moving average of $50.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 43,293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 10,003 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $8,284,000. Landaas & Co. WI ADV acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 45,355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after buying an additional 11,720 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.