Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on OXY. Barclays lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.9 %

NYSE:OXY opened at $47.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.04. Occidental Petroleum has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 2,477,362 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Gateway Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,847 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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.