Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 121.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,496 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,461 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,942,000 after buying an additional 50,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,509,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of OXY stock opened at $48.84 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $44.70 and a 1 year high of $71.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.28 and its 200-day moving average is $49.89. The stock has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on OXY. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

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.