Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,844 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $3,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 334,461 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $19,984,044.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 255,281,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,253,071,059. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders purchased 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.31.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE OXY traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.54. 5,189,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,353,382. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.03. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 15.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

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.