Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 0.8% Higher - Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.07 and last traded at $40.28. 4,887,717 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 10,809,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial upped 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.21.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.