Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Up 1.2% on Strong Earnings

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price was up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $48.89 and last traded at $48.64. 4,891,152 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 9,670,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.06.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 15.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 2,477,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $114,577,992.50. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,921,348,477.50. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,053,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,896,890 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,365,992,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $701,816,000 after acquiring an additional 398,467 shares during the period. H&H International Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the third quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,065,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $349,085,000 after purchasing an additional 491,797 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 1.9 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.55.

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.