Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) traded down 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $48.75 and last traded at $48.89. 3,622,835 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 10,544,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,053,055,000 after buying an additional 8,896,890 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC increased its position 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 worth $475,389,000 after buying an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% during the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $95,400,000 after buying an additional 1,766,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $203,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,728 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.