Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.7% - Here's Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.80. The company has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 1.51.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.