Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.22 and last traded at $45.58. 5,933,346 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 10,942,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $43.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.43 and a 200 day moving average of $50.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.