Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 2.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) rose 2.8% on Monday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $58.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as high as $52.75 and last traded at $52.74. Approximately 4,683,965 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 9,223,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.30.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on OXY. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.19.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $710,886,000 after purchasing an additional 444,850 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $206,560,000 after acquiring an additional 98,703 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,661,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,707,000 after purchasing an additional 277,462 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.92%.

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.