DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 5,500 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 127,433 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $6,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $48.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.87. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $44.70 and a 52 week high of $71.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during 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, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost 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 presently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on OXY shares. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum 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.