Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price rose 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $51.85 and last traded at $51.26. Approximately 4,194,179 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 8,655,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong 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 $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.01. The company has a market cap of $48.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 2,477,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gateway Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.9% in the second quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,847 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in 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.