Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 1.7% - Here's Why

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) traded up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $49.78 and last traded at $49.67. 2,440,226 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 10,215,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on OXY shares. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.82.

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Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.3 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.85. The stock has a market cap of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 1.51. 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 data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $30,320,000 after buying an additional 6,461 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,942,000 after acquiring an additional 50,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $2,509,000. 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.