Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $43.78 and last traded at $43.88, with a volume of 24958091 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $49.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.82.

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Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 5.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $47.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.2% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,026 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,631 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 108,232 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 95,888 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,738,000 after buying an additional 19,734 shares during the period. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $1,144,000. 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.