Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was up 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.24 and last traded at $50.99. Approximately 1,994,065 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 9,430,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 2,477,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $114,577,992.50. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,921,348,477.50. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after buying an additional 444,850 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $206,560,000 after purchasing an additional 98,703 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $121,600,000 after purchasing an additional 805,525 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by 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.