Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price traded down 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $48.66 and last traded at $48.92. 2,434,508 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 10,016,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 1.7 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,320,000 after acquiring an additional 6,461 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,942,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,509,000. 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.