Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 1.9% - What's Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $49.29 and last traded at $48.83. 3,277,964 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 9,989,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Raymond James downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.82.

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Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.91.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought 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 represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 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.