Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) were down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $51.72 and last traded at $51.91. Approximately 3,137,580 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 9,503,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on OXY shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.61. The company has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after purchasing an additional 444,850 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $206,560,000 after purchasing an additional 98,703 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 20.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,661,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,707,000 after purchasing an additional 277,462 shares during the period. 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.