Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded down 1.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $50.27 and last traded at $50.47. 3,320,395 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 9,198,925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on OXY. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.78.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.