Argent Trust Co Grows Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Argent Trust Co increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,929 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $37.68 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $71.19. The stock has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.02. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.05.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday. Raymond James lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.71.

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.