Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target Cut to $52.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock traded down $1.68 on Thursday, hitting $50.42. The company had a trading volume of 13,722,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,674,001. 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 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.14 and a 200-day moving average of $51.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.07%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 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.