Kennondale Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 16,019 Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 57,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE OXY opened at $47.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.88 and its 200-day moving average is $50.20. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $71.19.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 2.03%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on OXY. StockNews.com cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Occidental Petroleum 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.