Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Down 0.2% - Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.78 and last traded at $40.29. Approximately 1,964,601 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 10,829,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $44.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.02.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,365,992,000 after buying an additional 10,434,098 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $13,053,055,000 after acquiring an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,075.3% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,930,776 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $95,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,491 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $203,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,728 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $314,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.