Occidental Petroleum Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 121,558 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 30% compared to the average volume of 93,341 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,581 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,077,000 after purchasing an additional 8,327 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $110,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $418,000. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 85,816 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,754 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $46.65 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.78. The company has a market capitalization of $43.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.57. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday. Stephens boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen dropped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.71.

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.