Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.17 and last traded at $49.91. Approximately 2,775,701 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 11,242,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $46.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.91.

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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. Analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 108,232 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,160 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 95,888 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 19,734 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,144,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 43,293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 10,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.