Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.3% - What's Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $47.17 and last traded at $47.83. Approximately 2,049,633 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 9,864,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.45.

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Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.01. 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 cap of $45.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related 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 bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,160 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $685,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,246 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $874,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 10.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,508 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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.