Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded down 1.2% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $52.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as low as $51.17 and last traded at $51.47. 3,806,167 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 10,441,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.09.

OXY has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered 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, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 50,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $494,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $1,437,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 395.8% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 25,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 20,576 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.20 and a 200 day moving average of $51.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.07%.

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.