Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 8.6% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded down 8.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $45.09 and last traded at $45.09. 5,825,968 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 10,194,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.84.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.