Occidental Petroleum Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 116,673 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the average daily volume of 80,070 call options.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock traded down $1.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.42. The company had a trading volume of 13,869,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,758,816. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.56 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 paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 36.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 10,382 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,942,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,509,000. 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.