Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.30 and last traded at $46.93. Approximately 2,016,575 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 11,145,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.68.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a market cap of $44.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.27.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. 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 currently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 43.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 551,759 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,438,000 after purchasing an additional 166,372 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 52,408 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,702,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 11.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 28,765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,639 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 103,863 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,353,000 after buying an additional 8,524 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.