Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.7% - Here's What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $48.60 and last traded at $49.04. 1,563,091 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 10,204,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.82.

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Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $46.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 1.51. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $48.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.85.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,053,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,816,000 after purchasing an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $475,389,000 after buying an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,065,061 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $349,085,000 after buying an additional 491,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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.