Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) rose 1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $48.46 and last traded at $48.41. Approximately 2,339,556 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 9,959,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.45.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.91. The stock has a market cap of $46.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $874,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 70,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,638,000 after purchasing an additional 15,316 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,450 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,054 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,537,000 after purchasing an additional 94,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 12.9% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 81,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,206,000 after buying an additional 9,320 shares during the last quarter. 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.