Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 0.7% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $60.59 and last traded at $60.48. Approximately 1,712,543 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 7,856,944 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.07.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.31.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $53.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.58 and its 200 day moving average is $62.00.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The firm’s revenue was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,386,844 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $82,752,981.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 250,583,605 shares in the company, valued at $14,952,323,710.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders purchased 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake 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 worth $14,552,271,000 after purchasing an additional 19,586,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,699,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $220,910,000 after purchasing an additional 82,360 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its stake 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 worth $139,749,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $83,568,000 after purchasing an additional 483,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,342,292 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $80,148,000 after purchasing an additional 34,786 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.