Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on OXY. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $51.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum has a 12 month low of $45.17 and a 12 month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after purchasing an additional 444,850 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $206,560,000 after acquiring an additional 98,703 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $233,687,000 after acquiring an additional 532,318 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. 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.