Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 2.9% - Here's What Happened

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) was down 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $46.91 and last traded at $47.53. Approximately 6,925,544 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 9,275,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.54.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 10,382 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $48,942,000 after acquiring an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $2,509,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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.