Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 0.6% - Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0.6% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $48.33 and last traded at $48.55. Approximately 4,437,687 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 10,528,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.50.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.55. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $49.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.79.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.