Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 5.1% Following Insider Buying Activity

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares traded up 5.1% on Friday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $48.00 and last traded at $47.68. 9,633,576 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 9,514,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.36.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.9 %

The company 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.04.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 34.6% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 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.