Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Trading Up 0.1%

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s share price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.40 and last traded at $62.95. 1,319,606 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 8,044,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on OXY. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.56.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $55.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.59.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 15.62%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue was down 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 524,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $31,329,315.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 248,542,468 shares in the company, valued at $14,850,412,463. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,552,271,000 after acquiring an additional 19,586,612 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,995,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $357,977,000 after buying an additional 1,088,052 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,699,722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $220,910,000 after buying an additional 82,360 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 2,340,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $139,749,000 after acquiring an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 600.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,242,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $145,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% 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.