Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $46.79 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.23. The company has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after buying an additional 3,693 shares during the period. Lane Generational LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Lane Generational LLC now owns 90,757 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after acquiring an additional 7,179 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,958,596 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,184,000 after acquiring an additional 377,952 shares in the last quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 29,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,044,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.