Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) shares were up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.24 and last traded at $50.99. Approximately 1,994,065 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 9,430,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on OXY. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.22. The company has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 224.0% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $87,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.