Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price was down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $45.79 and last traded at $46.06. Approximately 2,753,593 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 11,181,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on OXY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 27,566 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.