Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 1.2% Higher

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded up 1.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $58.44 and last traded at $57.90. 3,896,119 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 8,249,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.69.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $50.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 524,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $31,329,315.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 248,542,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,850,412,463. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 524,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $31,329,315.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 248,542,468 shares in the company, valued at $14,850,412,463. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,552,271,000 after purchasing an additional 19,586,612 shares during the period. Himalaya Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,433,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,601,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,880,000. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,744,000. 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.