Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $49.22 and last traded at $49.24. 1,186,313 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 10,194,847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

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 capitalization of $46.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.85.

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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $30,320,000 after buying an additional 6,461 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during 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 buying an additional 50,983 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $2,509,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.