Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price was down 0.5% 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.68.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. 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. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 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.