Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.1%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) were down 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $59.91 and last traded at $60.34. Approximately 1,935,355 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 7,875,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on OXY shares. Stephens lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research began 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 on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.31.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $53.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.61.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 15.62%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 334,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $19,984,044.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 255,281,524 shares in the company, valued at $15,253,071,059. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders acquired 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% in the first quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.