Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Takes $212,000 Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,106 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of OXY stock opened at $51.21 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.25. The firm has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.58. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $49.51 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OXY shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.72.

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.