Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $48.22 and last traded at $48.51. 2,508,042 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 9,561,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OXY. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares during the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the third 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 buying an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3,645.8% in the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 765,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,453,000 after buying an additional 745,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd 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 during 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.