Piper Sandler Cuts Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Price Target to $51.00

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) had its target price cut by Piper Sandler from $57.00 to $51.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

OXY has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $47.13 on Thursday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $50.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.00. Occidental Petroleum has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business 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 $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 1.87%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,921,348,477.50. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 10,382 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $2,509,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 70,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,638,000 after purchasing an additional 15,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1,247.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 46,740 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.