Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price shot up 0.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $48.00 and last traded at $47.50. 5,760,759 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 9,585,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OXY shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.6 %

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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.80. The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. H&H International Investment LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Himalaya Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $92,433,000. Anson Funds Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3,645.8% in the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 765,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,453,000 after buying an additional 745,050 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $233,687,000 after buying an additional 532,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,450,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,398,000 after acquiring an additional 503,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.