Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.19.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 16,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,823.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 6,422 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Brave Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $52.11 on Wednesday. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a market cap of $48.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.61.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued 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 1.69%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

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.