Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) dropped 0.1% on Thursday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $51.00 to $50.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Occidental Petroleum traded as low as $44.92 and last traded at $45.47. Approximately 2,847,377 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 11,155,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.51.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on OXY. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

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.