Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 0.8%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) dropped 0.8% on Monday . The company traded as low as $62.52 and last traded at $62.53. Approximately 1,513,680 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,021,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on OXY. Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.56.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.77. The company has a market capitalization of $55.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 15.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 524,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $31,329,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 248,542,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,850,412,463. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.