Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 2.7% - Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.20 and last traded at $38.83. Approximately 3,852,897 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 12,774,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.3 %

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $45.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.72. The company has a market cap of $37.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,053,055,000 after buying an additional 8,896,890 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,365,992,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $701,816,000 after purchasing an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,065,061 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $349,085,000 after purchasing an additional 491,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $314,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278,389 shares in the last quarter. 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.