Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) were down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $56.24 and last traded at $56.32. Approximately 1,869,757 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 8,256,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.69.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $50.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 334,461 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $19,984,044.75. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 255,281,524 shares in the company, valued at $15,253,071,059. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $12,547,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 139.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 78,529 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,104,000 after purchasing an additional 45,722 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $763,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 36,475 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 21,475 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 904,081 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,863 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.