Stevens Capital Management LP Takes Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,817 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on OXY. UBS Group boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.45.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $48.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.01. The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.51. 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 current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

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.