Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $47.85 and last traded at $47.41. 1,851,528 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 9,847,337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.45.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

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