Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 2.5% - What's Next?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $39.82 and last traded at $40.00. 1,571,178 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 10,791,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1,181.3% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 65,437 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,373,000 after buying an additional 60,330 shares during the last quarter. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $14,199,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $411,000. Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $314,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,124,000 after buying an additional 32,356 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.