DnB Asset Management AS Buys 5,500 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 127,433 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $6,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $14,199,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 613,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after buying an additional 6,461 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,942,000 after acquiring an additional 50,983 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,509,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on OXY. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY opened at $48.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $44.70 and a 12-month high of $71.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.87.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.