Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

OXY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE OXY opened at $51.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.67 and its 200 day moving average is $53.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $45.17 and a twelve month high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after acquiring an additional 444,850 shares during the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $206,560,000 after purchasing an additional 98,703 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,661,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,707,000 after buying an additional 277,462 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.