QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 71.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,123 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 69,073 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $1,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $800,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $236,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 9.2% during the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $257,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $62.98. 2,548,817 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,832,469. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.92. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $55.12 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 15.62%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.87.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,060,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.59 per share, with a total value of $63,204,312.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 254,947,063 shares in the company, valued at $15,192,295,484.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.