Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $81.00 to $78.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as low as $55.09 and last traded at $55.27. Approximately 2,697,888 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 8,312,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.40.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,386,844 shares of the company'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 purchase, the insider now owns 250,583,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,952,323,710.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,386,844 shares of the 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 purchase, the insider now directly owns 250,583,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,952,323,710.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 stock was 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 owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 4,132,407 shares of company stock valued at $247,334,713. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,240 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,627,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,322 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,486 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,455 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 64,377 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.99. The company has a market capitalization of $49.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.