Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 7.4% - Should You Sell?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James downgraded 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.27.

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Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 4.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business's fifty day moving average is $47.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.60.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, 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. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 6,237.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 336,438 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $16,607,000 after buying an additional 331,129 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,026 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.0% during 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 buying an additional 5,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 25.9% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 19,734 shares during the last quarter. 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.