Brave Asset Management Inc. Acquires 2,200 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Brave Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 50.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Brave Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of OXY. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 38.2% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $222,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 31,275 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,448 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $52.68 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $45.17 and a 1-year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid 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 yield of 1.67%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% 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.