Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.26 Per Share

Key Points

• Occidental raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, an 8.3% increase from $0.24, implying a ~2.1% yield with an ex-dividend date of March 10 and payment on April 15.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.31 versus a $0.33 consensus and revenue of $5.11 billion versus $6.02 billion estimated, with revenue down 5.2% year-over-year.
• The dividend appears well-covered (payout ratio ~30.4% and an expected future payout ratio near 24.9%), and insider Director William R. Klesse recently purchased 5,000 shares.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.26 per share by the oil and gas producer on Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a 8.3% increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24.

Occidental Petroleum has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Occidental Petroleum has a dividend payout ratio of 30.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Occidental Petroleum to earn $3.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.9%.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

OXY stock traded up $3.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.40. 10,797,770 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,390,925. The company's fifty day moving average price is $43.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $49.65 billion, a PE ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 0.41. Occidental Petroleum has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $52.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.02). Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 7.81%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, Director William R. Klesse bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 218,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental's operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

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