Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Occidental Petroleum Call Options (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 121,558 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 30% compared to the typical daily volume of 93,341 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OXY. Raymond James increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE OXY traded down $2.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.65. 18,077,485 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,885,663. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.54 and a 200-day moving average of $52.78.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.