Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price dropped 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $46.66 and last traded at $46.85. Approximately 2,785,556 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 11,181,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.68.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 2,477,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 257,758,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,921,348,477.50. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OXY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 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.