Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 8,610 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 43.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,545 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $710,886,000 after purchasing an additional 444,850 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $475,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $206,560,000 after acquiring an additional 98,703 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $121,600,000 after acquiring an additional 805,525 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of OXY opened at $48.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.71.

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.