Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $47.75 and last traded at $48.49. Approximately 2,036,625 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 10,451,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $45.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.55. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.06.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. 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 1.97%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.