Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Time to Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price shot up 2.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $46.97. 3,809,104 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 11,152,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on OXY shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.50.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 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 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired 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 $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 in the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 43,293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after acquiring an additional 10,003 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $8,284,000. Landaas & Co. WI ADV purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 45,355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after buying an additional 11,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

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.