Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 1.2%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price dropped 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $56.38 and last traded at $56.50. Approximately 3,357,749 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 8,266,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.69.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $50.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.08.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 524,340 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $31,329,315.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 248,542,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,850,412,463. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter worth $44,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.