Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Down 1.9% - Here's Why

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $48.75 and last traded at $48.89. 3,622,835 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 10,544,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.55.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $45.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $8,284,000. Landaas & Co. WI ADV purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 45,355 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,241,000 after buying an additional 11,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 50,158 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 16,188 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.