Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 8.1% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was down 8.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $36.57 and last traded at $36.99. Approximately 7,049,052 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 10,676,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 1.02. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.