KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 177,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,825,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

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 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 owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $47.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.93. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $44.70 and a 12-month high of $71.19. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

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.