Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 2.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price traded up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.47 and last traded at $50.20. 4,377,340 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 9,979,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on OXY. Citigroup lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Price 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 stock has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.91.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

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. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

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