Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 7.4% - Here's Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 7.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.60 and last traded at $40.67. Approximately 15,577,032 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 51% from the average daily volume of 10,306,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen cut Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.90.

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Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 8.8 %

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 cap of $34.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.86 and its 200 day moving average is $49.25.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 33,373 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,720,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 103,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,312,000 after buying an additional 7,882 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,655 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,797 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.