Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price rose 1.8% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $38.77 and last traded at $38.34. Approximately 3,963,586 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 10,762,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.10.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.02. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 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.