Hi Line Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Hi Line Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,411 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 535 shares during the period. Occidental Petroleum accounts for 1.3% of Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $3,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. H&H International Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after buying an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $121,600,000 after purchasing an additional 805,525 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3,645.8% during the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 765,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,453,000 after purchasing an additional 745,050 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after purchasing an additional 444,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $18,554,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $50.42 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $45.17 and a 12 month high of $71.18. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OXY. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.55.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Occidental Petroleum 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.