Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.3%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.49 and last traded at $56.19. 2,497,803 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 8,213,946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on OXY shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.69.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $50.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.06.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,386,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $82,752,981.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 250,583,605 shares in the company, valued at $14,952,323,710.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,386,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $82,752,981.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,583,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,952,323,710.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. CapWealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,911 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company 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.