Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded up 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $50.07 and last traded at $50.00. 2,677,903 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 7,005,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on OXY. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $47.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 773,762 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,880,000 after acquiring an additional 51,042 shares during the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 149,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,699,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 13.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 57,365 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,957,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,247.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,602,000 after acquiring an additional 46,740 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.