Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $45.22 and last traded at $45.58. 5,933,346 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 10,942,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on OXY. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.94. The company has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders bought a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 10,382 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 19.6% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 12.3% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 15.2% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 221,970 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 29,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 22,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.