Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading 1.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price traded up 1.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $49.78 and last traded at $49.67. 2,440,226 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 10,215,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.85.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.