Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price dropped 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $46.66 and last traded at $46.85. Approximately 2,785,556 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 11,181,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.86.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.25 and its 200-day moving average is $50.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 2,477,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.