Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price traded down 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $48.60 and last traded at $49.04. 1,563,091 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 10,204,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OXY. UBS Group lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.22 and its 200 day moving average is $49.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $376,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 31,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after buying an additional 10,200 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $5,785,000. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,447,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently 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.