Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 4,576,758 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 7,958,484 shares.The stock last traded at $57.27 and had previously closed at $58.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on OXY shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.94.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of $51.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.77 and its 200 day moving average is $62.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 334,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $19,984,044.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 255,281,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,253,071,059. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OXY. CapWealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.