Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.4%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares were down 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $59.84 and last traded at $59.92. Approximately 1,477,985 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 7,812,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Stephens cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Ten research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.31.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $53.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 1.61. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.09.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,060,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.59 per share, for a total transaction of $63,204,312.27. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 254,947,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,192,295,484.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders acquired 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,552,271,000 after purchasing an additional 19,586,612 shares in the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,601,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,880,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 2,340,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $139,749,000 after acquiring an additional 797,894 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,744,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.