Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 3.2% – Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares were down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $45.07 and last traded at $45.06. Approximately 5,340,328 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 11,035,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on OXY. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 2.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $42.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.40 and a 200-day moving average of $50.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 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 purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,053,055,000 after buying an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $95,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $203,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,728 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.