Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 8.6% - Here's What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 8.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $45.09 and last traded at $45.09. 5,825,968 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 10,194,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OXY. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.27.

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Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $47.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.70. 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 $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.02.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.