Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.2% - Here's Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.78 and last traded at $40.29. 1,964,601 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 10,829,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stephens cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.1 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $37.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $44.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm 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 research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,181.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 65,437 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,373,000 after purchasing an additional 60,330 shares during the last quarter. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $14,199,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $411,000. Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $314,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,124,000 after acquiring an additional 32,356 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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