Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 14.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 795 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE OXY opened at $62.32 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $55.12 and a one year high of $71.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.61.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on OXY. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 765,899 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.28 per share, with a total value of $46,168,391.72. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 252,333,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,210,688,275.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.48% 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.