Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 7.4% - Time to Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.60 and last traded at $40.67. Approximately 15,577,032 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 51% from the average daily volume of 10,306,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.23.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 7.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.60. The stock has a market cap of $33.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 33,373 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 8.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 103,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 7,882 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 235.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 110,705 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,301,000 after purchasing an additional 77,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 263.1% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,655 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 9,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.