Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.5% - What's Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was up 0.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $49.09 and last traded at $48.13. Approximately 10,407,152 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 9,485,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on OXY shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 3.2 %

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 has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.56 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.07%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,365,992,000 after buying an additional 10,434,098 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during 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 last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $95,400,000 after buying an additional 1,766,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $203,459,000 after buying an additional 1,337,728 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.