Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 2.5% - Here's Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $39.82 and last traded at $40.00. Approximately 1,571,178 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 10,791,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen cut Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.32. The company has a market capitalization of $37.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum's 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,053,055,000 after acquiring an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $95,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,491 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $203,459,000 after buying an additional 1,337,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $314,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278,389 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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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