Ellerson Group Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 69,496 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,434,000. Occidental Petroleum accounts for 2.5% of Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE:OXY opened at $47.26 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $44.70 and a twelve month high of $71.18. The company has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.50.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.