Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 1.7%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price fell 1.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $50.88 and last traded at $51.15. 3,307,512 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 8,586,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OXY. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.60.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.32.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,552,271,000 after acquiring an additional 19,586,612 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $233,687,000 after buying an additional 532,318 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 277,462 shares during the last quarter. Himalaya Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $92,433,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,450,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,398,000 after acquiring an additional 503,173 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.