Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.5% - Time to Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $45.79 and last traded at $46.06. Approximately 2,753,593 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 11,181,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.86.

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Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average is $49.18 and its 200 day moving average is $50.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. 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 payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 43,293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,139,000 after acquiring an additional 10,003 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $8,284,000. Landaas & Co. WI ADV purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 45,355 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,241,000 after buying an additional 11,720 shares during the period. 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.

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