Mitchell Capital Management Co. Cuts Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Mitchell Capital Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,232 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 23,331 shares during the period. Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY traded down $0.98 on Wednesday, reaching $45.55. 17,133,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,336,131. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.86. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $44.70 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 1.55.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 2.11%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on OXY. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Profile

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.