Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) was up 0.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $49.09 and last traded at $48.13. Approximately 10,407,152 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 9,485,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OXY shares. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 4.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.45. The company has a market cap of $47.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.55.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 22.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders bought a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 over the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $32,000. 88.70% of the stock is 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.