Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 3.6% - Here's Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) rose 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.83 and last traded at $39.85. Approximately 2,877,795 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 10,763,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $37.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.02. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $45.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.63.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 20.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,631 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.