Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $47.59 and last traded at $47.81. Approximately 1,837,940 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 9,874,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.45.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.51.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 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.