Virtu Financial LLC Raises Stake in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 993.0% during the first quarter, now owning 88,837 shares valued at $4,385,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Altshuler Shaham Ltd and Bernard Wealth Management Corp., have recently acquired stakes in Occidental Petroleum, highlighting growing interest from institutional investors.
• Occidental Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share with an annual yield of 2.2%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 993.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,837 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 80,709 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $4,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OXY. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 80,892 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 10,312 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 297,672 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $14,708,000 after acquiring an additional 138,264 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 21,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 6,925 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 299,422 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $14,794,000 after purchasing an additional 7,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 7,929 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

OXY stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.70. 8,109,227 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,065,660. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.05. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.78 and a 52 week high of $58.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45 and a beta of 0.91.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.80%.

Occidental Petroleum 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.